Edenville Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Edenville Dam |
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 Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location | Gladwin and Midland counties, Michigan, United States |
| Coordinates | 43°48′51″N 84°22′35″W / 43.8141°N 84.3765°W |
| Purpose | Power, flood control |
| Opening date | 1925 |
| Demolition date | 2020 (Destroyed by Flood) |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Earth fill dam |
| Impounds | Tittabawassee River |
| Height | 54 ft (16 m) |
| Length | 6,600 ft (2,000 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Wixom Lake |
| Total capacity | 66,200 acre-feet (81,700,000 m3) |
| Surface area | 5.7 sq mi (15 km2) |
The Edenville Dam was a large earth wall built across the Tittabawassee River in Michigan, United States. It was finished in 1925. The dam created a lake called Wixom Lake.
The Edenville Dam was important for two main reasons. First, it helped control floods in the area. Second, it generated electricity using the power of the flowing water. The dam was about 54 feet (16 meters) tall and 6,600 feet (2,000 meters) long.
In May 2020, after very heavy rains, the Edenville Dam broke. This caused huge floods in nearby towns like Midland.
History of the Edenville Dam
The Edenville Dam was built in 1924. A man named Frank Isaac Wixom built it. The lake formed by the dam, Wixom Lake, is named after him. Before building the dam, Mr. Wixom owned a circus!
A company called Boyce Hydro Power owned and ran the Edenville Dam. This company also owned three other dams on the Tittabawassee River. These were the Secord, Smallwood, and Sanford Dams.
Dam Safety Concerns
Over the years, there were worries about the Edenville Dam's safety. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is a government group that oversees dams. In 2018, FERC took away Boyce Hydro Power's license to operate the dam.
FERC was concerned that the dam might not be strong enough. They worried it could not handle a very big flood. They also noted other problems with the dam.
After FERC stopped overseeing the dam, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) took over. EGLE decided the dam was structurally sound. Later, in 2019, a local group called the Four Lakes Task Force began to manage the dam.
Water Level Disputes
There were also disagreements about the lake's water level. In 2018 and 2019, the dam's operator lowered the water level. They said it was for safety reasons. However, they did not have permission from Michigan's EGLE to do this.
The dam operator said they were worried about the safety of their workers and the towns downstream. EGLE, however, said the operator had to keep the water at a certain level. In April 2020, EGLE asked the operator to raise the water level back to normal.
EGLE also said that lowering the water level without permission had harmed thousands of freshwater mussels. Mussels are important creatures that help keep rivers clean.
Dam Failure in 2020
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On May 19, 2020, a very sad event happened. Heavy rains caused a huge amount of water to flow into Wixom Lake. At 5:46 p.m., the eastern side of the Edenville Dam broke.
This break caused immediate evacuations in the towns of Edenville and Sanford. The Sanford Dam, which was about 10 miles (16 km) downstream, then overflowed. This led to even more evacuations in the city of Midland.
Michigan's Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, declared a state of emergency. More than 10,000 people had to leave their homes. Officials told people to stay safe and keep their distance from others, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tittabawassee River reached a very high level on May 20. This caused widespread flooding in Midland and Sanford. Many parts of Sanford village were badly damaged. Luckily, no one was reported to have died because of the flooding.
