Dow Chemical evacuates its Midland headquarters as dam breaches bring flooding to the complex’s containment ponds.
2020 Midland dam break
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Feds revoked dam’s license over safety issues. Then Michigan deemed it safe.
For a decade, safety regulators demanded improvements to a 95-year-old dam that failed this week. The repairs never came, and Michigan regulators deemed the dam in “fair condition.” One critic calls it a “catastrophic failure both of the dam and of our government at all levels.”
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan steps up to help residents evacuated by dam break
Hundreds are rushing to help those in Midland County evacuated by breaches of the Edenville and Sanford dams. “There are sources of inspiration,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday of volunteer efforts.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Watch videos, see tweets of flood damage from Edenville Dam failure
The failure of the Edenville Dam has forced the evacuation of 10,000 residents in mid-Michigan, some of whom are sharing their experiences on social media.
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Midland breach is wake-up call to remove Michigan's obsolete dams
Across the country, experts understand that removing dams we no longer need is the best way to keep people safe, improve water quality, restore critical wildlife habitat and eliminate ongoing costs of dam maintenance and repair.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Mid-Michigan dam that failed was cited for years for safety violations
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.”