CLAY TWP — The rapid rate of development in the township has alarmed residents and leaders for years, but humans aren’t the ones driving the boom, township supervisor Dale Anderson said after a meeting Thursday night.

Rodents are.

The aptly named Beaver Dam Road, which runs a little more than 6 miles and passes near the heart of the township, has a problem with beavers, which have built two or three large dams that cause flooding along roads and place homes at risk, Anderson said.

They’re just building on residents’ properties and flooding the road out, Anderson said.

“That’s our main concern,” he said, referring to the road and three culverts near the dams that have struggled to contain the flooding.

“The water’s just sitting there,” said township supervisor Jeff Scott. “That stretch of road is saturated underneath, so eventually it will erode out of there.”