What Really Happened At Edenville and Sanford Dams?
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- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2021
- In May 2020, heavy flooding resulted in the catastrophic failure of the Edenville Dam embankment, sending a wall of water downstream in the Tittabawassee River and completely draining Wixom Lake. The breach wave quickly overwhelmed the downstream Sanford Dam, overtopping and failing the structure. Over 10,000 residents in Sanford, Midland, and Saginaw were evacuated. The independent forensic team charged with investigating the event released an interim report in September 2021. The conclusions of the report include a discussion of a relatively rare phenomenon in earthen dams. Let’s walk through the investigation to try and understand what happened.
IFT Interim Report (PDF): damsafety-prod.s3.amazonaws.c...
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The forensic engineers probably couldn't believe their luck that someone actually managed to get footage at the time of failure.
right that is amazing
Yes, it's definitely a new age for engineering forensics when everyone has a high-quality digital camera with them at all times.
With the cost of high resolution cameras being what it is I wonder why civic authorities don’t point cameras at each and every major dam, bridge, etc. that could have serious repercussions when they fail.
@@cluerip easy, only need enough data storage for a looping 24h and can be local, really doesn’t have to be that complicated
@@wich1 NOT easy, dude.
Geotech engineer here. Glad to hear someone else confirm that "soils are weird". That really is the best summary. Even structural engineers often have a difficult time accepting how inconsistent the properties of cohesive soils can be.
as a Geotech that specializes in dams I fully embrace the "soils are weird" mentality.
If sheet pilings were installed like FERC wanted. There might not have been a breech. The State taking over and the new governor dismantling agencies. Then installing inept and inexperienced people for Dam safety. Only 2 inspectors for the whole State.
@@Hanzyscure that is par for the course for many states as many Dam Safety programs are underfunded compared to the number of dams they are responsible for regulating. While sheet pilings may have prevented the dam failure at this location for this failure mode, there are hundreds of other failure mechanisms and locations for the dam to fail, sheet piles would only prevent a few. Grady touched on it but there were other huge erosion issues occurring at this dam, like a dump truck size hole opening up adjacent to the spillway, which very well could have lead to another failure...or the fact that water was still rising at the time of failure. if the failure didn't occur when it did the dam could have overtopped, which if sheet piles were in place, could have eroded the supporting soils and lead to a breach of the sheet pile wall anyway. And generally I would argue that the State has no responsibility for the actions the Owner decides to take or not. they are really at a lose lose proposition. if the Owner does not comply with an order to repair (which lets remember the owner lost their FERC license because they failed to comply with FERC requirements), then the only other options are to take them to court to "force" them to comply or take the dam by eminent domain and fix it themselves, both options result in high cost to the tax payer. Ultimately it is always the Owner's responsibility to meet the requirements set forth by the regulating authority which up until they lost their hydro license was FERC, and once they lost it the State.
Environmental consultant here, can confirm that soils are very weird. A site never behaves exactly like its supposed to.
As a beverage engineer I can tell you, liquids are also weird. Just apply enough stress or shear forces and the dynamics change. Really interesting physics.
I’m a geotechnical engineer with more than 35 years experience. soil behaviour often feels like witchcraft to structural engineers who know how much something will bend under what load, but can’t always fully appreciate the impacts that water has on the micro and macro properties of soil structures. Your explanation and sectional construction diagrams were perfectly pitched for this type of presentation and I am going to recommend this video to our graduate civil engineering students. You didn’t mention cohesive forces in clays which add ‘strength’, but it wasn’t necessary for the purposes of this explanation and would have detracted from the explanation of reduction in effective stress - the primary mechanism of failure. There is a huge legacy issue from old structures of this kind and as ‘whole life’ examples for the modern engineer, for whom maintenance, life expectancy and de-commissioning should now form part of their consideration in design, this is a great and thought-provoking video. Thanks
hi
this is so interesting. Thanks for sharing. If I had a better scholastic aptitude I’d love to have become an engineer.
I practice such witchcraft with installing docks on muck and drop offs. Not only is large foot required but an auger under it to hold compressed mucked so dock don't move upward. Muck decompresses so easy and will absorb water like a sponge. I do masonry foundations also. I keep stuff shedding water and from sinking into the ground for a living.
you remind me of Dr David Rogers, he said the same thing about structural engineers.
The water was not lowered ahead of the storm. The gates were held closed for nearly 2 days while levels rose. This was not liquifaction but MISMANAGEMENT either because they were inept or it was done by design.
As a property owner on Secord Lake, one of the four lakes within the Special Assessment District that took ownership of these dams, it is refreshing to hear a professional voice lacking any personal connection to this project provide a clear and compelling explanation of why the dams failed, and more importantly, the financial pressures that made such failure possible. The local community is so torn by finger-pointing, suspicion and misinformation that calm voices like this are a welcome and much-needed relief.
My family is somewhat nearby on Lake Lancer. If you ever need anything just shoot me a message.
@@ball_soup Thank you, I appreciate that. I actually took my boat our on Lake Lancer last summer to do some fishing with my son. First time I'd ever been there and we had some good luck with bass that day. Will probably be back once or twice each year until our water comes back just to make sure the craft is still seaworthy.
Hopefully your community can come together to repair the damages done as much as possible.
@@Tadesan Ahh another person who doesn't believe in the US Constitution Free Speech section.
The ones responsible for it shoukd pay to make the former lakefront property owners whole. That includes Boyce operators, Fours Lakes Task Force, the county commissioners, the State AG, MDNR, EGLE and FERC.
I oversaw 7 dams just like these for several years. Your interpretation of the economics of 100 year old dams is spot on. There are hundreds of these structures needing attention. Expect more of these failures...
We need to hire some beavers...
@@jayeisenhardt1337 but then post10 will destroy them lol
@@gladitsnotme So glad that we have the power of the rake present here today
And yet, no one discusses the real issue with these dams built after The Great Floods of the 1910’s and 20’s. Silt has gradually built up over the years reducing capacity. When a big flood comes, there is less capacity farther upstream. Most need to be occasionally be dredged. That costs money that hasn’t been available from FedGov since the 70’s.
Thanks scott for your insights and knowledge.. please pass this ..
RUclips keeps deleting my comment when I bring up this dam for a nu-clear power plant that is not doing its job in Florida.
Turkey Point power plant in Miami - is leaking... isotopes, into the water through pourous Miami Florida limestone ground.
Please cover this topic, its leaking into the water in Florida. This is a major concern for the planet not just locals.
Hey Grady, just wanna let you know your content inspired me to take up engineering. You could say I had a minor crisis choosing what to pursue but after clicking on your video about concrete, I knew what I really wanted to become. Every time you post something, know that I'll be stopping what I'm doing to watch that video. More power to you Grady.
You can definitely do it if you want it, just be prepared for the longest 4 years of your life in school lol. Sincerely, a senior Mechanical Engineer major.
@@will-gq6pc next year I Will go into mechanical engineering, can you tell me more ?
Hi jaira if you want to take up a career you will be good at it (it's the wanting to do it well done hope you go far) god bless
That’s awesome! Also, don’t listen to the other guy about school. I had a great time getting my AE degree.
It's hard labor man, but it's worth it as f, just keep going mate! We the random people of the internet are proud to have a new member among us!
The human scenarios outlined at the end of this video is exactly what happened in Columbia South Carolina in 2015, a bunch of communities along a creek built dams to create waterfront properties. These dams were insufficiently designed and maintained, then a perfect storm hit after the area had already received a lot of rainfall and there was a cascading failure of each dam in succession.
This storm was not significant. In fact less than most prior storms. It was completely mismanaged.
I live in Columbia.The storm was significant. Significantly more rain than I have ever seen. I am 75.
Since I started watching your channel a couple of years ago, I grew to appreciate everyday structures that I previously thought boring or unsexy. Your videos are really enlightening and fun to watch. Thank you.
Unsexy. I laughed at that and i need a doctor
The "human factor" he mentions created more issues than the rain itself. Boyce Hydro attempted many times to supplement the dam by driving corrugated sheet steel on the water side of the dam so they could perform work on the dam core over time. Boyce wanted to keep the steel there permanently. The Michigan EPA kept denying their permit applications after Wixom Lake residents complained about the noise of the air hammers driving the sheet steel for 3 months. So in return Boyce wanted to increase the contingency capacity by lowering the lake level. Wixom Lake residents howled in protest. The residents didn't want anything to change, they wanted a grassy knoll for a dam but didn't want to contribute anything keep it functional. Michigan EPA was 100% hostile to Boyce Hydro and their attempt to remediate the dam. Boyce was not wealthy by any means, but they were not negligent either. They were actually trying to get it under control. Now FERC is fining them $15 million for their failures and a $3 million fund has been set up for the 6000 claims submitted. Lets be clear those dams in the Boyce Hydro portfolio had many previous owners, many who defaulted on loans, or spun them off to try and get out from under the inability to work out a plan with the Michigan EPA and the lake homeowners. So guess who owns the lakes now? The Four Lakes Task Force, made up of lake side residents and entrepreneurs are now are trying to put everything back together. This is who should have bought the dams from Boyce Hydro to begin with. Now they have their hands open looking for donations and state taxes to supplement the new taxing district that has formed to recreate the lakes. This will in turn force people to sell their property because they can't afford their tax allotment. So you begin to see why these dams were doomed to fail and it wasn't just the owners who were liable.
I live near where the new bridge over the St. Croix river in Minnesota was built between 2014 and 2017 and when they were driving piles it was LOUD. As annoying as it was, I wouldn't dream of complaining about it. I knew the short term annoyance was well worth the long term results. Governments shouldn't cave to residents whining about inconvenience when the goal is improving infrastructure. Living in a civil society requires sacrifices by members for the GOOD of ALL. Americans have been spoiled for far too long and need a wake up call!!
great observation. we might as well say that the people benefiting from the dam are partially responsible for its upkeep.
@@mom42boys The better solution is to offer temporary rehousing for residents when noise levels are excessive. That's a standard legal requirement in my country. Noise pollution above a certain threshold will literally kill people, so it should be regulated.
Something similar happened in my hometown about a decade ago. A new landfill was needed, it was going to be 100% modern and leak very little smell, if any at all. Local residents through a shit fit until they canceled the plans and moved it outside of town.
Now they complain about how far they have to drive. I laughed so hard at my friends dad, who was one of the first to complain about the dump smell AND the distance. I'm not allowed there anymore, lmao.
Grady always seems to downplay the failures of government that contribute to these accidents more often than not. He has a "more government fixes everything" vibe.
I live in Midland, MI and remember that day. Our neighborhood was on the edge of the flood zone. We were affected because the water flowed back up a tributary into our area. We opted not to evacuate when the fire department came by to warn us the dams were expected to fail. The water came up to within an inch of our front door but never got in! All the basements on the block were flooded. Our neighbor had an old fuel oil tank in the basement. It was only partly full so it floated as the waters rose, spilling its contents all over. What a mess! But we never lost power or even internet. Only the sewage pumps were shut down to prevent damage (they are on lower ground). Thanks for the video about a day we will always remember. I shared it with a Sanford group that formed quickly thereafter for residents to help each other. I know they will appreciate it, too.
Me too! My dad and mom came to visit the night the dam broke. NOT a good vacation
Lol I live in Gladwin
I lived in Midland for around 20 years. Nearly every spring the Tittabawassee would flood Currie golf course and the Tridge area. My house was just outside the flood plain but we always worried about this happening.
@Stella Hoenheim the internet, ladies & gentlemen
@Stella Hoenheim Wow, that's sh1tty. Who hurt you?
I live in Midland and have been tiling farm fields with my father for about 10 years. The part where the edenville dam had clay tile running through the embankment but pieces appeared to be missing, they more than likely are still there and just 100% filled with dirt because the old clay tile they used back in the day was only created in 12”-18” segments and then had to be laid next to each other to create a “seamless” draining system underground, however throughout the years and the ground shifting the tile always moves and gets filled with dirt! I couldn’t count how many old fields we’ve come across with clay tile that’s almost impossible to find unless you actually have a old map of where the tile was put and get a backhoe. It’s a shame that we knew years before this disaster that the dams were not up to code yet we did nothing about it.
Our area is rural, and most properties had septic tanks. Back in the 70s they would use clay tiles for the leech lines. In the last decade or so , almost all of these tanks have failed in some way and needed work. It's strange that flopping down a plastic tube in a ditch compared to the work that went into laying those thick tiles out one by one.
and where was the money going to come from. them dams were not making their cost to repair them. CMS paid boyce poorly for every megawatt produced, Cms could by their megawatts need from DTE a lot cheaper. them lake owners were geting welfare from boyce hydro. if not for the state of michigan and dumb courts them dams never would have failed
Oh something was Done About it. the Fed Gov found the Dam unsafe and drained the Lake, Boyce was force to refill the lake By court order by the State of Michigan
Thank you for these great breakdown videos explaining these large structure failures. I'm an engineer (chemical, not civil) and it's really interesting to get an explanation of the specifics of how these structures are built and the challenges they face, along with the safety factors that are usually in place. It's really interesting to learn about another engineering discipline since I only know the basics and your videos are presented at a really nice degree of technical, where lay people can enjoy it, and technical people don't feel like they're being spoken down to.
I really love your channel and have recommended it to several other engineering friends. Keep it up!
I'm from Midland, born and raised, and have lived in Coleman and Sanford as well, and my wife is from Beaverton (just north of Wixom Lake). We currently live an hour and a half from that area due to my pursuing a Welding Engineering degree, and this event is burned into my mind. We had been getting heavy rain for several days before the failure, and we had just had a flood in 2017, that wasn't as bad, but still caused a lot of damage ( I kayaked in my basement!). I was doing homework when my phone's Emergency Alert went off, warning that a dam failure may happen. Within a few hours, several more notifications came through, that quickly changed to "Imminent Dam Collapse, Evacuate Immediately". I started calling everyone I knew in the area to make sure they all were aware, including my in-laws, who live close to the Wixom dams. Those communities are something else, because there was not a single fatality, and the majority of evacuation efforts were led by neighbors. What this video doesn't show is what it looks like now. The lakes are sand dunes, with once-submerged trees dotting the fresh grass covering the lake bed. M-30 just re-opened a few months ago, making travel easier, but driving through Sanford and seeing building I'd seen my whole life simply missing is eerie. The Fiero museum was lifted off it's foundation and sent into the building next door. The hardware store that my brother-in-law worked at was demolished. But the willpower of the Sanford and Wixom area people came through quickly, and rebuilding has been taking place almost since day one.
Thank you for the video, it makes what happened make sense.
I'm also from the area, getting the warnings and seeing the aftermath now is very eerie, the lakes look like deserts from above, now they are green as grass has grown but I know many people who (once) had lake front property there
My story, I am a poor man. I hope everyone can help me
I still get that gut wrenching feeling every time I hear the alert sound come across my phone.
@@nathanjohnson9911 is the land dead dry or moist non buildable land?
I just love hearing this guy talk. There's the liveliness of someone who's genuinely interested in what he's talking about.
Yes
Yah Grady is tip top 👏
You should go to university than
Yeah, but he says "damn" all the time.
I love these style of videos talking about current events in engineering and public works. You do such a great job compiling the information and having a logical flow about how you want the information presented.
I don't have a lot of knowledge about engineering, especially in dams and such, but I just want to compliment you on how brilliantly you explain these massively complex interactions in ways that everyone can understand, and also why those interactions happen in the first place!
I seem to recall that some MI lake owned by a utility company was to be lowered to comply with Federal requirements, but was then sued by the waterfront property owners and supported by the state because lowering the lake level would devalue waterfront property values and the lake for recreation and wildlife purposes would be decrease. The State courts imposed an injunction against utility company from lowering the lake level and then the rains came and breached the dam(s)....
Mother Nature sided with the utility company.
The old issue dammed if you do, dammed if you don't. As stated in the video, those who benefit are often not those who pay for it. Only good thing that dam was a low head one. I just wonder how much income they normally get per mW.
@@jantschierschky3461 Pun intended, yes?
Property value is one of the dumbest things we ever decided was worth "protecting" by the government. If you want to protect the value of your property, protect it your own _dam_ self.
If you don't own the lake and you don't own the device that determines the level of the lake, it seems pretty obvious that you aren't entitled to the lake always being there. Maybe that's just me.
No, no,no. Private Companies ALWAYS do a better job than Gubament.
The fact an earthen dam from the 1920s survived as long as it did is a miracle in its own right
My parents have a cottage in Traverse City so when I make a trip up to our cottage, I pass through Sanford on US-10. One afternoon on my way home I made a special trip to Sanford to see the damage for myself. The magnitude of destruction was beyond belief. You never really respect the power of water until it reminds you how powerful it really is.
Great explanation! I live in Saginaw, and watched this unfold myself. Having friends that own(ed) houses in Sanford and Midland, and seeing the destruction happen was very sad. None of them were hurt, but many lost many memories and property. The water levels in the Tittabawassee River and Saginaw River were incredibly high, causing a lot of downstream damage too. Lots of bridges were damaged from the high waters and debris.
Simply said,”I’d rather live in an earthquake zone rather than downstream from a dam that is guaranteed to structurally fail someday.
Back in the 90s, I used to work for a surveyor that had a contract with the Corps of Engineers to survey dams. We took hundreds of measurements on each dam, checking for shifting of the structure. One dam was over 2 miles long. Our surveying equipment had detected a shift in that dam of less than 0.5cm over that length.
OMG 0.5cm is scary.
@@Hanzyscure What is scary is that is was moving when it shouldn't have been.
@@Hanzyscure 0.5 cm can be within a tolerance of error since its a minuscule amount, meaning the measurements are not completely accurate and/or could be a rounding issue. The scary part is lawyers can seize upon it if anything actually happened since it was recorded in a official document. "This was a known issue and why didn't you do anything to correct it?"
@@sw8741 I was using sarcasm to a 90s conclusion of 0.5cm actually reported. But your response is 100% correct.
@@sw8741 I don't know what the rules are in the US but here in the Netherlands dams and dikes are not allowed to deflect more then 0.0001 mm measured at the moment the dike or dam is being used ad max capacity. Every 0.0001 mm more needs more work.
This summer we have again seen the importance of good water defence work that you need to be able to trust at the moment they are at there most needed hour.
They've been having some dam issues just outside of my home town of Kingsport, Tennessee with the Boone Dam. Apparently a sinkhole was found letting water bypass the dam, creating the possibility of failure. They lowered the water level of the lake by ten feet and it's caused a lot of headaches and frustrations for people with homes and boats on the lake. The project is supposed to be completed sometime next year. You might find it interesting.
It's worth noting that if the dam failed, the next dam just up the river in Kingsport itself, Fort Patrick Henry Dam, would likely also fail. That dam is the only thing stopping the water from hitting the Eastman Chemical plant right across the way from it, which itself is the size of a small city, and would likely be a massive ecological disaster (worse than the garbage they already pollute our city with, at least).
Well, with the recent increase in dam failures across the country I'd be surprised if Boone's management hadn't already prepared for the worst case. Otherwise you and the rest of the state can prepare a lawsuit and wait.
Not being a smart @$$ here but rather am genuinely asking... did you intentionally say that if the dam you referenced failed, another dam that is located upstream from it would also fail?
🤔
I'm no dam expert so if that sort of thing does actually occur, I legitimately don't understand how...
🤔
🇺🇸
It's "up" the river as in north, not upstream. Boone Dam is upstream of Fort Patrick Henry Dam, but to the southeast of it, and therefore "down."
@@gapkillercool
👍🏻
Thanks for the clarification. That's really dam interesting...
😊
🇺🇸
Hey, I live in Kingsport. Yeah, it would be a disaster if that dam fails. It’s issues have been going on for several years now.
My house was damaged from these dam failures. Thank you for providing additional insight on the situation.
The mounds of damaged and lost personal items and property was astounding!! Just driving around and seeing those heaps and mounds in front of everyone’s house was/is devastating.
Excellent, unbiased summary of all of the events and factors! I live nearby and while I wasn't directly affected, I have family that was. So much of the media coverage and conversation surrounding the event has been focused on pointing fingers rather than understanding what happened and working to prevent it from happening again. I very much appreciate your fresh take and concise summary.
Great point about how many of the people that benefit from such dams are NOT responsible for the maintenance. Hydro dams have a myriad of conflicting demands on them. Power generation, flood control, recreation, irrigation... Everyone involved have there own agenda and the owner/operator finds themselves pulled in many directions.
One case where it would have made legitimate sense for the city council to buy the dam or take control by court order. Thankfully nobody died but it seems that 200mil in property damage is worse than 1 or 2 mil spent renovating or 10mil spent replacing, especially if the reservoir is key to property values in the area. Can't really levy property taxes if all the structures in your city are now either flooded or high and dry on an empty lakebed.
Couldn't they have condemned the structure as unsafe based on the FERC report? It seems like there was ample time to take action on the city's part.
@@tissuepaper9962 completely agreed. The city seemed to take the right steps but it was not fast enough
@@tissuepaper9962 I was wondering the same thing. The damage will far surpass whatever amount they would have spent on prevention, it would have been in the local government's best interest to appropriate the structure after the owner made it clear they had no intention of remedying the faults per the failed inspection.
@@tissuepaper9962 the power company utilizing the dam got out(lost licence) just in time to socialize the losses...coincidence?
@@jessewoody5772 once they lost that license the city should have gotten an injunction against the dam owner forcing him to drain the reservoir. There was more fault on the city's part than on the operator IMO, because they had ample time and ample power to stop the destruction and didn't. Seems an awful coincidence that the city's revenue was directly tied to the lakefront homes on the reservoir and they mysteriously chose to leave it in an unsafe condition.
Everybody here had a conflict of interests and everybody seems to have chosen the worst interests to prioritize. Clearly the dam operator should have sucked it up and fixed his dam, but he has a valid concern in that he's not actually seeing any of the benefits of his investment. All those benefits go to the city and her wealthiest residents, whereas the brunt of the damage was sustained by the normal citizens of the town. If everybody could just talk and act like adults they could have worked something out before catastrophe struck.
This video series on failures and what we can learn from them is really a great playlist!
Even with knowing very little regarding any kind of engineering, I understood your explanation completely. The diagrams were perfect to go along with your words. This is the first video I’ve come across from you but I will be subscribing and watching a whole lot more. Thanks again and again.
Great video and explanation, thank you... I drove through and explored these "dams" earlier this year. Besides it still looking like a post apocalyptic scene, there is literally just a three foot wide creek running through the middle of these now completely overgrown "lake beds" and "rivers". The majority of the affected water front properties are in some cases a 1/4 mile from what is now basically just a creek. Could not imagine what those communities are going through. Even after seeing the aftermath, its still hard to believe.
I'm sure there's a reason things are structured this way, but the whole "You've failed to meet our regulations, so we're going to stop regulating you" seems like a very poor way to manage dams.
@@DCOM.20 PURE Michigan
When the regulation was passed to the State, why isn't the State held accountable?
It's almost like this couldn't have happened at a better time for the dam owners being told they have failed to meet regulatory requirements and lose their license to produce hydropower, conveniently the jurisdiction over the dam falling to the state of Michigan!
The whole time I was watching the video all I could think about was why didn't they lower the lake, if not as soon as the bad report came out certainly when they got the weather forecast that a big storm was on the way.
That’s not quite what happened. The FERC oversight authorized not just any dam but only hydro power production. So, the dam lost its ability to do hydro.
Federal or state, more rules don’t help here. Thus owner can’t afford these upgrades, period. Govt needs to I) have adjacent residents take ownership and fund repairs, or ii) govt outright seizes the dam and land. Somebody w funds needs to step in, not somebody w paperwork.
Grady, thanks for this video. I am a resident of Midland, MI and will certainly never forget that day. I am a land surveyor and was called upon to check any visual damage of bridges from Edenville to Saginaw through drone flights for MDOT. Bridges were closed for close to 40 miles over the Tittabawassee. Your videos are always interesting, keep it up.
surveyor must be different from when I did it 15 years ago.
Now you dont even need a 2man crew I noticed, with the gps and drones, ha.
@@dertythegrower check out the news items on the structural failure of the I-40 bridge in Memphis.
Love the channel!
I’m sure it takes a tremendous amount of time to create each video-reading, studying, writing, narration, video/image, and final editing.
Well done, and keep creating more.
One of your best and most well put together videos, and given the overall quality of your videos that is no small praise.
A few years ago, me and my friend built two small dams made out of sticks, mud, and leaves on a small stream in our neighborhood. Three thing we learned from it: dams are hard, erosion is frickin’ annoying, and soil is weird.
I used to do that in the storm gutters in spring. Even building a couple inches of dam in the flowing water is tough!
I live in a coastal region in northern Germany, protected by Dams ... we had some school excursions to learn how dams work & they had some equipment like Grady to play & experiment with different materials, steepness & techniques - a really good learning experience! :)
(also, as kids playing with Mud-Dams at the beach :D)
Grady, you mentioned clay drain tile in passing. I've heard this mentioned in reference to many kinds of structures. I'd love a video that dives into how drain tiles work.
Now I want that too!
Clay tiles is the old fashion of doing "weeping tiles".
Nowadays they use various forms of sock-covered PVC with holes but still call it "weeping tiles".
The original tiles were really tiles laid on top of one another with a gap. Water would flow over them until silt clogged them.
I love that you don't just say what went wrong, you also explain how we can build structures that don't fail like this again
I love these analyses series. Explained brilliantly for non-engineers. Thank you!
We lost our lake house on Wixom to this failure. Thank you for covering this!
Probably doesn't mean much from a stranger on the internet, but you and everyone else who lost as a result of this failure have my sympathies.
lost the house, or lost the lake?
@@elvishfiend both. The house had large amounts of water damage and we had to rip everything out. And all thats left of the lake is a mud pit with a stream in the middle.
Thank you so much for covering this! I grew up in Midland, MI, and I lived at home for a few months in 2020. All throughout May and June, we hauled water-logged things out of homes belonging to friends and family. Remarkably, the push alerts from our phones gave us enough time to save family heirlooms, evacuate everybody in the flood plains, and ultimately avoid any major injuries or fatalities.
Sup fellow midland person.
Wow thanks for reporting that. I never heard about it. Cheers and be safe Trav.
Fellow Midlanders! Hope this video doesn't cause flashbacks. -LaChance.
now just enjoy all that dupont chemicals in the water
Your series are a must watch with each release. Thanks for your commitment.
I have family that lives on Sanford lake so I follow this topic. This video does a good job of explaining the economics of failure. Homeowners around the lake don't want to pay for the artificial feature but also won't accept it being taken away. It becomes an impossible situation that down stream property owners pay the price for.
That conclusion was wild. Imagine keeping a dam. A whole dam! Running just because it looks pretty and increases property value. Wild.
This are things my local congressman wont even dare to explain! Thank you for the explanation
Great well rounded review of the dam failures! Also great summary of the main methods of seepage and erosion protection of dams used today! I can tell a serious amount of effort went into making this video so good and short! This video has made me a subscriber! Keep up the great work!
Really love the quality of detail you can pack into just these short videos. Suggestion for future content: Maybe every so often do an in-depth case study of a particular damn that was built properly and is working just fine, and highlight the latest innovations in damn building technology. It is actually hard to find quality and accurate, detailed footage of damns on youtube, so I appreciate all the footage you are somehow able to come up with on your channel.
This is why in the Netherlands water management have their own independent government structures with full responsibility for an entire river or catchment area.
Some have existed for 800 years and they have their own independent elections and tax.
This is essential in a country that is largely below sea level.
Those windmills? Yeah we used those to manage the water for centuries.
Idk man, that sounds kinda socially responsible to me...
Sensible government structures with full responsibility and oversight for keeping up infrastructure. That sounds like socialism to me.
Wait you have people in charge who can be held liable AND make decisions? Wild idea. I thought it was better to have liable people who can't make decisions and decision makers who aren't liable.
@@RobinTheBot xD
We have those in my state (Ohio). They are called conservancy districts and basically perform a similar function to prevent flooding and provide for recreation
Fantastic explanations! There's something oddly satisfying about watching that soil get pushed out from the dam.
FYI: I grew up in Johnstown, PA. It's known as flood city. Major dam failures in 1889, 1936 and 1977 killed a lot of people.
That's because you can't fight nature
You must work alongside nature
Nature always wins
I do not see soil getting pushed out at the initial failure stage. What I see is a textbook soil slump failure along a circular surface beyond the dam dam leading face. There is no "push" as you say and the evidence for that is the obvious lack of a mass of water to immediately follow the slump. The leading face of the dam is momentarily functioning after the initial slump. When that also fails is when the lake water starting to flow through.
I am surprised the classic soil slumping mechanics is not mentioned in this video. The eye witness video captures it. Karl Terzaghi must be turning in his grave.
I was gonna say ... even as a stranger looking at the map before the failure I knew I would never live there. Reading you mention the history makes sense lol. Ya gotta be insane to stay in a place like that ... or have no choice.
@@alanjones9093 dude nature try to kill us multiple times.
Damn!!!
Not saying it was me, but I recommended this when you did your shoutout a long time ago looking for community recommendations on what we'd like to hear from you about. SUPER happy that you covered the topic. As always, amazing work.
Huh, I remember that. From what is said on Wikipedia, the operator was forced by the state regulator to increase the water level under threat of getting sued as they had let it drop out of safety concerns beforehand...
@@TugIronChief I'll start off by saying you're not wrong, maybe just misinformed.
Coming from a person of vested interest - my parents moved to and currently live on what used to be Sanford Lake after retirement - I have been following the "human aspect" of this story very closely since the dam breach on May 19, 2020.
Boyce Hydro, FERC (federal regulatory agency), and the State of Michigan are all to blame for the dam failures, all in their own respect and to different degrees. But Boyce did NOT get a raw deal here. And when all legal proceedings are complete, the courts will rule serve Boyce their just due as well.
If I were to place who is to blame, I would say, in order: 1) Boyce, 2) FERC, 3) State of Michigan (a distant 3rd)
At the time when Boyce Hydro acquired these dams back in the 90s, The Wolverine Power Company, who sold Boyce the dams, knew that they were in desperate need of repair and that their spillway capacities were 50%+ less than what FERC requires for federally regulated dams. When Boyce Hydro purchased the dams from Wolverine, this information was likely passed along. However, both entities knew that FERC does not have the proper resources let alone the regulatory power or "teeth" to actually do anything about it. FERC, as the video says, is drastically understaffed and underfunded compared to the amount of dams that they are in charge of regulating.
The repairs and maintenance would have cost tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars. Wolverine didn't have that kind of money, they were going into bankruptcy. And although they said they were going to, Boyce didn't plan on paying for it either. But the sale went through, and FERC signed off on the license passing from Wolverine to FERC.
Now, wouldn't you think that would be a fine opportunity for FERC to say, hey, we need to address these maintenance, repair and spillway issues before Boyce buys the dams? Does Boyce have the financing in place to pay for everything that needs to be done?
Normally a financial review of the purchaser occurs when a federally regulated dam passes from one owner to the next - Can the purchaser afford to keep them up and uphold the safety for everyone living on the lakes and for everyone downstream? But FERC didn't review Boyce's finances. Why? Well, there is a clause (for lack of a better term) in FERC's regulatory statutes that says if an entity purchases a dam(s) UNDER FORECLOSURE that the financial review by FERC of that entity can be waived. I know, very dumb. A financial review would have uncovered the fact that Boyce either a) didn't have the funds, or b) did not, in good faith, intend on using the funds they had to fund the repairs (Boyce's owner is a failed businessman and trust fund baby).
So Boyce bought the dams, and for the next couple of decades FERC chased their tail trying to get Boyce to fund the necessary repairs and maintenance. Boyce's lawyers kept coming back to FERC saying, simply, we don't have the money for it. And maybe they didn't. But guess what: THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Boyce bought them, didn't pay for them, let them rot, and in the wake ruined several thousands of people's lives, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage...all to save some money.
In reply to your point about the water levels: That story was all smoke and mirrors, a red herring story planted in the press by Boyce PR. The truth is the state was left with a mess from both FERC and Boyce, but they didn't do anything either to force Boyce to fund the repairs. Understaffed, underfunded, and no legal "teeth," the state stood back, dragged their feet, and did nothing just like FERC. The state has the opportunity to right their and the federal government's wrongs by passing a bill that is being presented in the legislature to help fund the repair of the dams - Some $200M+, I believe.
In reply to your statement that they'll never rebuild the dams: They 100% are being rebuilt as we speak. It's just going to take a few years because the weather in Michigan is too cold to work year-round. A great deal of progress has already been made. Look up Four Lakes Task Force and Jordan Mowbray on RUclips for more details. The tentative plan is that 2 of the lakes will be back by 2023, and all 4 lakes will be back by 2025-2026.
@@TugIronChief Sorry, but once again you're misinformed on the topic. Maybe your ignorance on the subject is because you don't have first hand knowledge, like people who actually LIVE there?
You say he did it out of safety, because that's what Boyce always claimed. But every local you talk to, including people in local government, say he drew all the lakes down after FERC revoked his license out of spite, and only brought the water level back up in the Spring of 2019 AFTER he struck a deal with the Four Lakes Task Force to purchase the dams for more than $9 million. Everyone who lives on those lakes will tell you he used to play games for YEARS lowering water levels to try and strong arm the residents into paying for the necessary repairs. It was ALWAYS about money, and never about safety, for Boyce.
Oh yeah, and not to mention Boyce Hydro's owner's criminal history. But yeah....he REALLY seems like a guy concerned about people's safety.......: www.abc12.com/content/news/Court-records-show-Edenville-Dam-owner-has-criminal-history-570705801.html
@@TugIronChief As someone who just heard about this dam from this video and read these comments, you look like the one with no idea so far. Post a source or two for your comments and maybe read the article Kiel posted above.
@@TugIronChief I mean, partly I guess? That link is a news report showing residents are happy water levels are being raised. I don't think anyone was denying that though? Nothing in the news report talks about dam safety or reasons for low water levels.
@@BenAnkenmann He knows what he is talking about
I'd like to plug Jordan Mowbray's channel - dude is a Sanford local and has been covering the dam failure since Day One. Amazing footage and narration.
Thank you!
Jordan, would the soil have liquified and failed had the lake level been 3 feet lower?
@@noname-FJB Based on this video from a non-engineer, quite possibly. I suspect it'd have taken much longer.
@@gth042 I agree. Anything is possible given enough time
High quality content right here! I’ve seen numerous videos about America’s numerous failing dams but this has been the first I’ve seen to explain why. Fantastic work, thank you. It’s easy to imagine some entity greedily lining their pockets instead of reinvesting in the dam but that’s rarely the case.
This owner was a Trust Fund baby that bought the Dams for a tax write-off. Rather than invest in repairing the Dams to FERC specs. He hired a lawyer to engage in civil litigation fighting the Government. The government doesn't subsidize Hydro electricity but subsidizes wind and solar power. The Feds have been squeezing Hydro power out thanks to the wind and solar lobbyists. Unfortunately the lakefront property owners are left holding the bag of tricks in this situation.
@@Hanzyscure who _wouldn't_ hire a lawyer after four complaints and fifteen fines...
This a great video! I love the summaries of the forensic reports you do. It’s actually what inspired me to pursue a master’s in forensic engineering
If you’re not a Professor, Professional Lecturer or teacher of some kind …. That was wonderful and so easy to digest. I learned so much in such a short time because you held my attention so easily, I was hung on every word.
Sound level, intensity, inflection, confidence, pronunciation …. Every aspect was so easy to …hear. That could have been the same data and delivered boring and flat …. What everyone hates about lectures this was NOT.
I loved it … thanks for what I’m sure was no easy task. Well done … I’ll subscribe !
Hey Grady, thank you for taking the time to make this video. Everything was summarized perfectly and you did a great job at explaining how and why the failure occurred. I live about 5 miles south of Sanford, it's a town that I grew up in. Many houses and businesses were completely destroyed. I was one of many volunteers who helped clean Sanford up, it looked like a bomb went off when the water drained out. As of today, Sanford is almost back to being like it used to. Many of the businesses that were destroyed have rebuilt and are open again.
This is really interesting. My wife grew up less then 30 min away from both of those dams, and her parents still live there. It was crazy going back this summer to visit and seeing the lakes completely gone.
I was activated as a member of the Michigan Army National Guard to respond to this emergency in Midland. I drove a troop carrier transport with 10 firefighters in the back to search for trapped residents in the high water. I had water in my cab multiple times but it was an overall very rewarding experience
Thanks for your service and willingness to risk your life for the good of others.
Great stuff, thanks
As a construction surveyor, I happen to be on a project building many dams around a proposed open pit mine. In your video of newer dams being built, you show a core, some are compacted till or clay core, but on either side of the core, you place what are called filters.
The current dam I am involved with, we place 0.5m of compacted sand, both sides, and against the sand we place clear stone, approximately 12mm (half inch) in size, compacted, then larger stone, 250 to 300mm (10 to 12 inch) outside of that
I would like to know how those filters work, as water pass through them, they are supposed to be self plugging in a way..... Interested in seeing the mechanics behind that.
Thanks for the effort, keep them coming
For those interested in rebuild of the dams (and close-up detail), Jordan Mowbray installed a number of live cams and covers community reconstruction. It's cool how your description of failure and improvements are seen in the redesign (along with modern spillways, and such).
Yup, I came to the comments section for the sole purpose of suggesting his channel...
Thank you! You can also see deep dive videos into the rebuilding of these dams and bringing them up to todays standards.
@@JordanMowbray I was hoping people would mention you. Kudos to you for all your hard work.
@@WeldinMike27 Thank you!
Any dam can be made to fail. There is no dam in existence that can not be broken.
It doesn’t matter the design or construction, and the only thing that can save them is proper control and management/maintenance..
Allowing stupid people to have a hand in the operation of the dam is the root cause of failure in most dam failures.
Dam failures are some of the most fascinating and scary things that can happen on this scale of man made structures.
I appreciate your thorough and balanced explanation of these dam failures.
As a civil engineering geek from Michigan I thank you for covering the flaws in this dam and it’s always nice to see a video about near where you live!
If only I had more teachers like you in high school I might have chosen a different career path. Love your content!
Grady I think it's so awesome that your videos are being recommended by my college professors. You've been helping to augment my college learning for years now and it's been so wholesome watching your channel grow! Cheers!!
I will tell you what I think…
“This is one of my favorite channels to watch because no matter the topic your knowledge and curiosity for this subject, engineering, is infectious.”
Excellent presentation and especially the analysis of this event. As you mentioned, there are many reasons for rebuilding the dams that no longer serve their original intended purpose. I have seen comments saying to let the waters flow naturally as they did before the dams, which seems at first to be the best idea. But we cannot turn back time in many cases, and we have altered or terraformed the surrounding terrain to the point that letting the water flow is not viable for the surrounding communities or ecosystem. I have been watching another channel here on RUclips of a person who is documenting the rebuilding of these structures, which has helped me to empathize with the surrounding communities. But it doesn't stop me from dreaming of seeing all this 500-1000 years ago, in a more pristine state.
Currently doing concrete sampling and testing and soil density testing on a hydro dam undergoing upgrades in Tennessee. Had a moment to watch. Good content. 👍 A little reminder of why I do this.
This channel releases a video and I just automatically click the thumbs up. When has he not put out great videos?
The answer is never.
...and who are the two dullards who hit the thumbs down?
Thank you for the video explanation. I’m curious to see the next report of how the human factors came into play for the failure.
I have lots of friends in the Midland-Wixom area that have been dealing with these dams even before the failure. We were there the days after the failure helping muck out flooded houses, many people lost everything and the way the insurance and FEMA flood areas were determined, they didn’t receive any financial relief.
I've been around these lakes for years living in a small town called Gladwin, it's crazy to see someone like you talk about something that happened a 15 minute drive away. Sorta cool to see someone with as big a channel as you explain it
Growing up my friend had a cabin on Secord Lake that we'd go to in the summer. I remember watching fireworks over the lake many fourth of july's.
🚧 Keep up with all my projects here: practical.engineering/email-list
👷 My engineering failures playlist: ruclips.net/p/PLTZM4MrZKfW_kLNg2HZxzCBEF-2AuR_vP
🎥 Jordan Mowbray has a ton of awesome footage on the damage and restoration of both dams: ruclips.net/user/jordanmowbray
you are awesome brother
Jordan Mowbray has a lot of vids covering the recovery process, and a few live cams. if anyone is curious of how things are going for the communities there.
channel/UCV2miD06XDzTba5TXjkmWLg
Great vid by the way. B)
@Practical Engineering
Thanks for another very interesting and informative video, and I very much appreciated Your explanation regarding the "responsibility", making it clear that it can be much more complicated and nuanced than is often described. "We" usually just want a clear "culprit" so that we can attribute the blame and then "rest assured" that it wouldn't happen if it wasn't for these "rotten apples"... But reality is (unfortunately ?) more complex than that, and I appreciate that You took the time to include Your clear and insightful explanation of that in this video..
Best regards.
Have heard and seen a number of explanations for this event but was impressed with your technical presentation. GREAT work.
Thank You
Your videos are both impeccable and incredible. You covered the subject in great detail, that I haven’t seen before, awesome stuff per usual!
Well, considering this was built in 1920, and it was facing up to (probably?) a 50- or 100-year storm event, I'd say it handled to specification. Unfortunately, this is a textbook example of why "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" isn't always the best solution.
But it *was* "broke". The FERC told them it was all kinds of fucked up, and they still didn't fix it.
The city wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They needed the dam to be updated but they didn't want to pay for it. What should have happened as soon as the 2018 FERC report came out is that the city should have gotten an injunction against the owner and forced him to either fix it, or sell it to them so they could fix it. Shit, they could have even tried eminent domain. Why do we have all these excessive government powers if we aren't going to actually use them when it makes sense?
The US seems to have a higher number of dam failures though. Maybe its just because they have more of them I dont know, or because many Americans are anti-regulation.
@@tubester4567 people think structures will last forever. They need maintenance just like everything. Policy has created this weird set of circumstances where structures are sold off to private companies, asked to maintain them, are unable to, try to do the job any ways then get blocked by regulations and then realize its a money pit. Now, the regulations are there for a reason, but the profit incentive is gone (power generation) since the license was revoked and output dropped. They should have never been sold off in the first place.
Regulators were the problem here, not the solution.
Had the lake levels been reduced, the dam would not have failed.
They would have bought time to make any changes necessary and would haves saved half a billion dollars in damages.
Stupid regulators caused this disaster
@@toronaldaris These dams have always been privately owned.
Grady your content is amazing and is always a welcome sight when I get on RUclips!
As someone that lives not far from the dams, this is really cool to watch and thank you for doing a video on it!
Thank you! I live in Saginaw, about a half hour from the Sanford dam, and have been hoping you would do some analysis on it's failure. There's still a lot of mixed feeling about who should be at fault around here.
Hello from Grand Rapids! Who could be at fault? Is this the lake that has the level lowered and then the court ordered it to be raised because of waterfront property value?
It's kind of appalling that the entire dam was privatized with minimal oversight in the first place, especially when such a community was established around it. Seems like once it reached a point, it should have become a community managed thing. Which, sounds like it is now... it's just a shame that it took this event to get it to that point.
It's mind boggling that you can be grossly negligent to ignore red flags and then claim bankruptcy immunity.
Local leaders should have put pressure on the dam owners. They should have raised their hand for state funding and notified the state of the results of the report, and continued to raise their hand until resolved. A quick goggling showed that state governors were changed in 2019, and it was reported that the report came in in 18... it's really up to local representatives to raise their hands to as leadership changes to get the oversight and help they need if the Dam owners.
The state leaders should have prioritized the safety of the citizens.
The more I think about it, it's kind of mind boggling that one poor dam owner can be so negligent and cost so much money to not maintain their things, jeopardize so many lives, and then just make insurance companies/government/taxpayers pay for their negligence.
@@LordWhirlin Gladwin and Midland Counties are to blame according to the State Attorney General. The County judges ordered the water levels raised to accommodate the Memorial Weekend tourists. The judges blame the AG. What a fustercluck.
@@LordWhirlin It should be noted that the lake residents were in active process of trying to purchase the dams to do repairs before the failures. Sadly not soon enough though.
I lived in Gladwin and worked in Midland when this happened, and it was insane how much damage this disaster caused. They only recently finished building a temporary bridge over the highway. Cool to see something so close to home from this channel!
Live in Gladwin myself
i took longer to build that temp bridge then it did to build i 94 in ww2 from detroit mi to ypsilanti mi
@@dknowles60 I already debunked that lie when you posted it on one of Jordan's videos. Do I need to do it again?
@@rjgoniea cant handle the turth. learn michigan history i 94 was done in 6 months in ww2. you were not around at the time. that m 30 bridge was not done in 6 months. a lot more work and engineering went in to i 94 that that little m 30 bridge
@@rjgoniea i see you have a very big problem with math. lets do it again. the m 30 bridge at best is 1000 ft long. I 94 from detroit to the old willow run bomber plant is 35 miles. m30 2 lanes . i 94 at the time 4 lanes. at the time. i 94 was made 6 lanes in apx 1974 i dong care if you go by the foot yard mile. the m30 bridge took way to long to get done
I’m usually anti dam but after living in Cali and seeing snowmelt and rainwater drain out to the sea creating an artificial drought has made me think we really need dams to preserve freshwater resources
Really enjoying these “what happened?” breakdown videos Grady. Keep it up!
I never realized how dam interesting a dam video like this could be! 😄
Booooooo!
Missing an n there
A long history of acrimony and disputes between the dam owner and regulatory agencies....still the better pun and I don't believe he intended it to be.
Wow your so funny 😐
Dam you
I actually lived near here and was working when this happened. I remember having a ton of people coming into my store, exhausted and downtrodden that everything was flooded. It was definitely an interesting day.
I’m not an engineer but I do understand dirt and your explanation is clear and detailed enough that most laymen can understand it. Plus what you covered here has had a great effect on me and my friends. Thank you sir for your insights!
Nice delivery.. You kept me entertained, brought it to an easy to understand, yet thorough, and technical level of detail. Awesome job sir !
Thank you for covering this. I live by the Tittabawassee River and it was a wild few days where I was in Saginaw. I consider myself lucky in that all that I got was a few pictures and a boat that washed up.
Thank you for making this video. I lived through this nightmare while living along the Tittabawassee River in Midland. Our single-story house flooded with 2 feet of water that day. If the Sanford Dam had collapsed, rather than overflowed, our house would have been underwater or completely swept downstream.
Your analysis and presentation are excellent! I was interim dam inspector (volunteer, unpaid) for two dams in my local community. One was what I call a "drop-box" dam...the other was a simple Ogee with a small gate that was frozen by rust and corrosion. I went to a few seminars provided by the state of NJ at Rutgers...to bring us up to speed...so to speak. Both dams were "low-risk", in that...no loss of life or property were present should one or both fail. It emptied out into a river that went directly to the Delaware Bay. All of it...VERY interesting. I'm a Special Ed teacher, but I thought all these factors were too complicated to present to my students. My compliments to you on your thoughtful and precise technical analysis and evaluation for all your videos!
Just a thought? I'm also a General Contractor and deal with concrete (pouring, forming, mixing) for foundations, patios, curbs, driveways, aprons...etc. When you deal with concrete (especially mixing small batches from bags) you can witness first-hand LIQUIFACTION. There's a critical moment where...as you add water...it transforms from thick but workable...to nearly liquid. Sometimes the difference is just a cup or two of water in a wheelbarrow as you rake it in. Perhaps you could do a video to demonstrate this phenomenon?
Great job of explaining these failures. Your presentation skills are exceptional.
Hey man I admire you so much, thanks for making videos that are helpful and full of knowledge.
Hahaha I’m a geotechnical engineer and you absolutely made me laugh. Yes, dirt is very weird. Much more weird and important than people would begin to know.
Thanks for this! Another great video. All these videos about dams are super interesting. From the dam failures and dam collapses, to how the dam construction. All this dam talk is very fascinating! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for covering this, I was waiting and watching for an explanation of what actually happened with those dams. One of the benefits of actual flood control dams, like Keystone in my area, is that they have city, county, and state support, because they are critical to reducing flooding from flood rivers(Arkansas river flooded Tulsa almost every year, sometimes more than once before daming).
I am an EAS enthusiast, and I remember quite well how quickly the event occurred, and how quickly Flash Flood Emergencies were issued. I'm glad that I can now know what happened even more precisely!
Your explanation of soil liquefaction blew my mind. I'd always wondered how this happens. Your explanations and videos are top notch!
I grew up on wixom lake. I drove over after the dam broke to help clean up. Entire houses were missing. The water was so high downstream of the dam that I have pictures of debris hanging off the power lines, which were up a 30ft hill already.
Almost every bridge crossing was destroyed, not just the highway one mentioned.
Also Smallwood damn failed too.
Also I was told by family members that the entire lake drained in just a few hours. And wixom lake is not a small lake by any means.
Truly mind blowing
I’m from Michigan and have a friend who lives on The
Tittawabasee River & others in the area. His first floor is 6’ above grade per flood plain guidelines and within 1 hour, He had 5’ of water in his house!
He Lost Everything, but
Rebuilt it Again!
Love Your Channel! 🧤🇺🇸
The cause of some of the missing drains might be a rush to complete the job. During the construction, the constructors apparently took some time off to go hunting. During that break, the reservoir filled more rapidly than expected, so much so that the steam shovel they were using to excavate the fill was submerged by the rising water behind the dam. It’s not impossible that they overlooked the drains in the rush to get the rest of the dam completed before the reservoir filled completely. Jordan Mowbray has a lot of excellent coverage on this issue.
Kinda like the significant number of Afghan soldiers who “take time off” to plant and harvest crops every year.
@@JeepCherokeeful Is that why they ran? They had to tend the harvest?
did not happan. lake level was kept high by court order
You gotta respect an agency named after the sound it makes when they regulate you.
_FERT_
"No more electricity for you."
Man, when this guy makes a vid so long after something happens you just know it's gonna be good. I do wish this all wasn't so depressing, but thank you for actually caring about giving factual information to the public. I do think you are actually making a difference.
It's so cool to see a video of this here! I live about 1 minute from Sandford, luckily our house was just outside the flooded areas, but there's still so many people recovering from the damage this caused, and what was once Sanford Lake is now a paltry stream, overgrown and covered in garbage and debris.
Also, congrats on pronouncing Tittabawassee correcly ;)
This is wild. the other day I thought to myself "I wonder if the Practical Engineering guy will ever do a video on those Michigan dam failures?" Get out of my head!
Thank you, Grady! I live in Michigan and am most familiar with Midland within the affected area, so this was really interesting. The town I live in has an old dam as well and earthworks that result in a canal, so I sometimes wonder about the safety of those near and downstream from here. I get how pervasive this is, with all the little dams everywhere, on seemingly every river of any size.
I love these new style of videos you are doing keep up the great work!!
I'm a lifelong resident of the area, and just want to clarify a small point; what you have labeled at 1:25 as "Edenville Dam" & West Spillway on the left/west is actually called the Tobacco River Dam, and on the right which you label "East Spillway" is the actual Edenville Dam. Otherwise, great summary of the issue. I remember the day & evening it all happened. Everyone in the local area knew someone, or knew someone who knew someone who lived in its path and there were lots of texts and calls and it was scary for thousands of people. It's amazing and wonderful there was no loss of life.