Edenville Dam Update - Working in the Old River Removing Sediment
by Jordan Mowbray, 8/8/2021
MDOT: Engineering Adventures: Midland Flooding
Have you ever wondered what happens when a dam breaks?
How about two dams at the same time?
In this video, MDOT Bay Region Associate Region Operations Engineer
Kimberly Zimmer walks us through the events and response due to the
catastrophic Wixom and Sanford Lake Dam failures.
2/27/2021 Michigan's aging dams need money, manpower to avoid 'grave situation,' report says, by Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press
The owner of the failed Edenville and Sanford dams, Boyce Hydro Power LLC, for years refused to make necessary spillway improvements called for by federal regulators to handle major flood events. The company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid a myriad of lawsuit filings following the dam failures and flooding. "The owner just said, 'I don't have the money; I'm not going to do it.' And he filed for bankruptcy when it failed" - Robert Daddow, Deputy county executive under L. Brooks Patterson in Oakland County for 28 years.
[ Scroll down for a pic of the fat-n-happy Trump supporting dam owner ]
June 3: After Midland flood, Wixom, Sanford lake residents face long, complicated restoration, by Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press: Midland church swallowed by floodwaters: 'It tears a hole in your heart,' by Phoebe Wall Howard, 5/23/2020
Detroit Free Press: Harrowing tales of Michigan residents escaping the Midland flood: 'A nightmare movie,' by Jeff Seidel, 5/23/2020
May 22: Before-and-after satellite images of flooding in Midland County show water's destruction, by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
May 22: State confirms Sanford Dam failed, satellite shows before-after flood images: What we know, by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
Boyce Hydro, for the second straight day Thursday, issued a statement pointing a finger at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) for the dam failure and draining of Wixom Lake, which spurred the evacuation of 10,000 residents and led officials to declare an emergency.
Meanwhile, EGLE confirmed Friday morning that the Sanford Dam, downriver of the Edenville Dam, also failed. It had been unclear whether the second dam had breached — or whether water was just spilling over.
Detroit News: Trump grants Whitmer's request for emergency declaration over flooding, by Melissa Nann Burke, 5/21/2020
Detroit News: Dangers of Edenville dam failure evaded state scrutiny, by Beth LeBlanc, 5/21/2020
Detroit Metro Times: Owners of dam flooding Midland ignored federal regulators for years, by Lee DeVito, 5/20/2020
Detroit Free Press: No pending Oroville, but Michigan's aging, crumbling dams pose a risk, by Keith Matheny, 2/14/2020
Most Michigan dams no longer serve the purpose for which they were built in the late 1800s or early to mid-1900s — power for things such as grist and sawmills and, later, hydropower for small communities whose increasing power needs have since led them to tap into the electric grid.
Detroit News Photos: Flooding devastates Mid-Michigan region, 5/21/2020
May 20 MLive: Lake vanishes after Michigan dam fails during record flooding
May 20: Mid-Michigan flooding after Edenville, Sanford dam failures: Everything we know, by Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
May 20: Wixom Lake turns into a giant beach after the Edenville Dam bursts, by Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press
Michigan Environment Watch: Watch videos, see tweets of flood damage from Edenville Dam failure, by Kathryn Dugal, 5/20/2020
Michigan Radio: Midland County residents spending Memorial Day weekend cleaning up from massive flood, by Steve Carmody, 5/22/2020
Bridge: Mid-Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations, by Kathryn Dugal, 5/20/2020
Detroit News: State says it didn't pressure Boyce to raise water levels before dam failure, by Beth LeBlanc, 5/21/2020
Detroit News: Tittabawassee crests at 35 feet: 'Never had an event like this,' by Francis X. Donnelly and James David Dickson, 5/21/2020
Bridge: As floodwaters bear down on Dow Chemical, worries about water toxins, by Robin Erb, Kelly House, 5/20/2020
Detroit News: Dangers of Edenville dam failure evaded state scrutiny, by Beth LeBlanc, 5/20/2020
Detroit News: Stunned evacuees face 'unthinkable' flood damage, by George Hunter and Francis X. Donnelly, 5/21/2020
Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: Michigan will 'hold people responsible' for dam failures, by Frank Witsil, 5/20/2020
Bridge: Feds revoked dam’s license over safety issues. Then Michigan deemed it safe. By Riley Beggin, Mike Wilkinson, Kelly House, 5/20/2020
MLive: Sanford Lake Dam owner Lee Mueller says he's not paying for $83,000 repair project, 1/21/2019
MLive: Gov. Whitmer addresses Midland after dam break and flooding: ‘We’re gonna get through this,' by Riley Murdock, 5/20/2020
WDIV-4 Detroit Video: Flooding: Lake Wixom emptied in Edenville, 5/20/2020
Detroit News: Pilot captures aerial view of dam breach in Midland County, 5/19/2020
May 19 MLive: Footage captured of the Edenville Dam embankment failing to hold back floodwaters
Edenville, Michigan. MLive / Youtube video Courtesy Lynn Coleman
MLive: Feds warned years ago Edenville Dam couldn’t handle a historic flood, by Garret Ellison, 5/20/2020
Bridge: Mid-Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations, by Joel Kurth, Mike Wilkinson, Kelly House, 5/19/2020
The Edenville dam that catastrophically failed and prompted thousands of evacuations was cited repeatedly by federal authorities, who allege its owners had a “long history of noncompliance.”
Detroit News: Feds revoked Edenville Dam license over fears it could not survive major flood, 5/20/2020
Detroit Free Press: EGLE said failed Midland County dam in 'fair' condition after inspection in late 2018, by Keith Matheny, 5/20/2020
Detroit Free Press: Mid-Michigan's catastrophic flooding adds to state's pandemic woes, by Frank Witsil, Jeff Seidel and Angie Jackson, 5/20/2020
MLive: Officials work to dispel rumors amid record-breaking Michigan flooding, by Robert Acosta, 5/20/2020
MLive: Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone, by Kaitlyn Farley, 5/19/2020
At 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Midland County Emergency Management determined that the Denville and Sanford dams are structurally sound.
MLive: Residents told to evacuate after Edenville Dam failure in Midland County, by Robert Acosta, 5/19/2020
MLive Video: Floodwater pours through Midland County dam, 5/19/2020
MLive: Officials report flooded roadways, evacuations and dams unable to control water in mid-Michigan, by Isis Simpson-Mersha and Kaitlyn Farley, 5/19/2020
Midland County Emergency Management stated that the Edenville and Sanford dams are “structurally sound but spilling floodwaters” as of around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Midland County worked with representatives from Boyce Hyrdo, a hydroelectric power plant in Sanford, to make this determination. However, MCEM noted that the dams can no longer control or contain the water flowing through the spill gates.
MLive: Loss of power dam license could lower Wixom Lake by 8 feet, by Chris Ehrmann, 1/29/2019
MLive: Michigan just had record-breaking heavy rains, here’s where most of it fell, by Mark Torregrossa, 5/19/2020
July 19 Update 4: (Part 2) Edenville Dam Collapse Wixom Lake Flood 2020 - The Falls, Fish and close-up Dam
- YouTube video by Jordan Mowbray
