A Dam Safety Task Force was assembled after the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams which resulted in catastrophic flooding in the Midland, Michigan area last May. The Task Force released their 59 page report to Governor Whitmer on February 25, 2021.
According to the report, there are more than 2,500 dams in Michigan that are not regulated by the federal government, just over 1,000 of those are regulated by the state. Of those structures, so many are in need of improvements and/or repair that the state is “heading toward a grave situation with many dams if significant investments are not made in the short and medium term.”
The group recommends funding for maintenance, repair, and removal of dams throughout the state with priority given to the structures that pose the greatest risk to communities if they were to fail. They suggest a revolving fund of up to $20 million per year over a 20-year period in loans to cover those costs along with a grant program of up to $80 million to support the work.
Liesl Clark, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), said in a press release, “Aging dams, just like all infrastructure throughout Michigan, suffer from a lack of consistent investment, which must be addressed if we want to avoid future tragedies.”
The full report is available <HERE>.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
