May 29, 2026
Erosion at the overflow spillway at Kleber Dam in Cheboygan County. Record rainfall and rapid snowmelt in April added up to historic flooding across northern Michigan – high waters that tested the state’s aging dam infrastructure. Levels rose to within five inches of the top of the Cheboygan Dam on April 16, prompting emergency preparations for evacuations. Responders deployed sandbags at Bellaire Dam in Antrim County, and numerous other sites faced significant threats and days of uncertainty. Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency.
The crisis echoed events of May 2020, when record flooding pushed the century-old Edenville Dam in Midland County past its breaking point, unleashing a torrent that soon overtopped the Sanford Dam downstream. Ten thousand people fled their homes, and damages totaled more than $200 million.
For many Michiganders, that was the moment they realized how much depended on dam safety. If anyone needed another wake-up call, spring 2026 just provided it.
From 2022-25, Michigan invested $44.5 million through the state’s Dam Risk Reduction Grant Program (DRRGP) to fund 56 projects: 20 dam removals, 16 rehabilitation efforts, and 20 engineering studies. But experts estimate more than $1 billion is still needed to shore up outdated structures statewide.
It’s a formidable challenge to reflect on as National Dam Safety Awareness Day approaches on May 31, commemorating an 1889 dam failure in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that killed more than 2,200 people.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) recently convened state, local, and tribal leaders in Traverse City to highlight the urgent need for stronger dam oversight, improved safety standards, and long-term investment for repairs or removals.
Currently, bipartisan bills backed by EGLE in the Michigan House and Senate propose to:
Rep. Bill Schuette of Midland introduced the legislation as House Bill 5485, and Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak introduced it as Senate Bill 947.
The bills don't provide funding; they just set up the funds. Appropriations are still needed.
But even with funding, solutions are not easy. Decisions about repairing, replacing, or removing dams can divide communities, and costs can tie the hands of owners and regulators.
Partial failure at Lower Hiawatha Dam in Montmorency County. And the scale of the challenge is large. Michigan has more than 2,600 publicly and privately owned dams. The state regulates more than 1,000 of them, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees another 90 hydroelectric dams. Many of these structures date back to the early 20th century, long past their intended design life. More than 140 Michigan dams are classified as “high hazard potential,” meaning their failure could cause loss of life and severe property damage. About 15% of those high-hazard dams are either in poor condition or lack a current safety rating.
Neglect any infrastructure long enough, and it will fail. Dams that have lasted a lifetime can fail in an instant – with catastrophic consequences. In the U.S., dam collapses have claimed at least 140 lives in the past 50 years.
In the wake of the 2020 disasters, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials and a Michigan Dam Safety Task Force called for urgent reforms. The task force issued 86 recommendations, spanning funding, compliance, enforcement, and emergency response.
EGLE expanded its Dam Safety Unit from two staff members to eight – more boots on the ground for inspections and compliance work. Enforcement practices were standardized to create consistent oversight. The state also established a $6 million Dam Safety Emergency Action Fund for urgent repairs and removal projects. The remaining $5.2 million in the fund is committed to two projects and will be spent over the next couple years.
The DRRGP wrapped up in May 2025 with its final round of awards and no new funding in its place.
The DRRGP helped communities tackle some of the toughest infrastructure challenges they faced. In Arenac County, for example, $2.3 million in DRRGP funding announced in 2023 supported upgrades to secure the Forest Lake Dam for decades to come after heavy rains in 2020 damaged the dam’s spillway, forcing officials to lower water levels for safety.
In Flint, the program provided $1.5 million to remove the Hamilton Dam on the Flint River, a crumbling structure more than a century old. Its removal not only reduced safety risks but opened up 25 miles of river and tributaries for fish passage, improved spawning habitat, and boosted prospects for riverfront redevelopment.
All told, projects funded under the program reduced risks to nearby residents, restored natural river systems, and set the stage for new recreational opportunities.
Still, the urgency of dam safety remains high. Local governments and private dam owners often lack financial resources or the ability to address decades of deferred maintenance.
With so many dams having reached or surpassed their design life expectancy, action is needed now. Increasing age only accelerates deterioration of dams, sometimes necessitating immediate action such as lowering of impoundments – the lakes or ponds formed behind dams – or emergency stabilization or removal. The urgency of these actions is often clouded by loss of recreational use of impoundments and can result in public opposition to taking actions necessary to protect the safety of dams.
Future risks such as flooded streets and homes, destroyed infrastructure, and even potential loss of life can seem abstract compared to current tangible benefits like fishing, boating, or enjoying waterfront property.
Michigan’s dam safety staff focus on identifying and assessing the structures that pose the greatest risks, reviewing construction plans, analyzing inspection reports, enforcing compliance, and responding to emergencies. But more awareness and support are needed.
Dams were built for a wide range of purposes – hydropower, flood control, water supply, recreation – but most were never meant to last forever. And as climate change fuels more intense storms, they are under mounting stress. Resilience is essential to the state’s safe and successful path forward.
That means investing not only in repairing critical structures but also in removing obsolete ones to restore river systems, improve fish passage, and create safer, more natural waterways. It means helping communities navigate the balance among recreation, habitat, and – most importantly – safety. Above all, it means doing our best to ensure that Michigan never again faces a disaster or near-disaster like those that struck in 2020 and this year.
Dams can provide beauty and recreation, but when aging or neglected, they can unleash devastation. As Michigan weighs next steps, the lessons are clear: Proactive, preventive action must remain the top priority.
Adapted from an article by EGLE Field Operations Engineering and Enforcement Section Manager Luke Trumble in the 2026 Michigan State of the Great Lakes Report.
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