EGLE’s Dam Safety Unit grows to meet challenges of age, weather

In just a few hours in May 2020, seven inches of rain slammed the area around Forest Lake in Arenac County, damaging the Forest Lake Dam’s spillway into Wells Creek and the Rifle River. For the next four years, safety concerns would keep the level of Forest Lake above the dam lowered by about eight feet.

But with help from $2.3 million in funding from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Dam Risk Reduction Grant Program (DRRGP) announced in 2023, a new spillway chute has been installed and the 50-year-old dam inlet infrastructure upgraded.

“The traditional fish and wildlife habitat was restored this spring with the return to summer lake levels, and local residents are property owners once again able to enjoy this beautiful 178-acre lake,” said Dan LeFevre of the Forest Lake Property Owners Association.

It’s just one positive outcome for communities and ecosystems around Michigan courtesy of the DRRGP program, which disbursed more than $43.4 million from fiscal years 2022-25.

The Michigan Legislature created the DRRGP in 2022 to address aging dam infrastructure. Recently announced grants marking the program’s last cycle will advance 19 dam projects statewide, in Albion, Alma, Baldwin, Beverly Hills, Clare, Coldwater, Elsie, Ishpeming, Kalkaska, Liberty, Marcellus, Mosherville, Newaygo, Reed City, Rose City, Somerset, Three Rivers, Vicksburg, and Ypsilanti. Previous rounds were announced for 22 dams in 2024 and 16 dams in 2023.

EGLE’s Dam Safety Unit will provide updates should additional funding become available. Visit the web page for more on dams and dam management in Michigan.

“The construction of a new spillway at Forest Lake is the result of years of hard work and determination from the residents surrounding Forest Lake,” said Arenac County Treasurer Julie Hazeltine. “EGLE’s assistance was instrumental to the successful completion of this project.”

In Flint, the DRRGP awarded $1.5 million to Genesee County Parks and Recreation in 2023 to complete removal of the crumbling, century-old Hamilton Dam on the Flint River near downtown. The goal was to restore the stream channel to allow for more seamless fish passage and overall river connectivity.

Parks Director Patrick Linihan called it “the first step in the redevelopment of the Flint Riverfront through downtown Flint. By removing the high-hazard dam, not only did it protect public safety but also increased the viability of the river by improving spawning habitat and allowing for unimpeded access to 25 miles of the Flint River and tributaries.”

Increasing awareness

Saturday, May 31, is National Dam Safety Awareness Day, commemorating an 1899 dam failure in Pennsylvania that claimed more than 2,200 lives. The recognition was created to encourage responsibility and best practices for dam safety and promote benefits that some dams offer.

It’s an opportunity to reflect on EGLE’s Dam Safety Program, which covers more than 1,000 publicly and privately owned state-regulated dams in Michigan. The program ensures that dams are properly built, inspected, and maintained, and that the owners are prepared for potential emergencies. Among staff duties, many required by statute, are:

• Inspecting, on request, dams owned by the state or local governments.
• Reviewing the adequacy of dam construction or reconstruction plans.
• Reviewing safety-related reports, including inspection reports.
• Performing compliance activities as necessary to enforce the law.
• Responding to dam safety emergencies.

In recent years, EGLE has reorganized and increased its Dam Safety Unit from two staff members to eight, including engineers and positions responsible for grant administration, training, program development, and emergency response. EGLE also has developed more standardized enforcement strategies for dam safety.

Additionally, a legislative appropriation of $6 million in fiscal year (FY) 2022 created the Dam Safety Emergency Action Fund, which as of May 2025 had three projects in planning or underway. When these three projects are completed, about half of the fund will remain to complete emergency projects at other dams before the end of FY 2026.