Why Weren’t the Dams in Midland County Fixed Years Ago?
There are a LOT of questions surrounding the failure of the Edenville Dam.
Dams along the Tittabawassee River have had problems for years - structural issues, too much water passing through that dried up lakes up north, etc.
In fact, back in 2018, the federal government revoked the dam owner's license to produce power. They claimed that the owner, Boyce Hydro LLC, wasn't fixing the aforementioned safety issues and that the failure of the dam could create a historic flood.
Boyce Hydro attempted to sell the dam (and others that they own along the Tittabawassee River) to the Four Lakes Task Force back in December for $9.4 million, but the sale was never finalized. The task force was created by property owners from two different counties.
The dam's need for repairs dates all the way back to 1999; the dam was sold to Boyce Hydro in 2004 without the improvements being made.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that the state is investigating and reviewing their legal recourse.
Boyce Hydro actually lowered the water level of Wixom Lake twice after their license was revoked.
I'm no expert by any means, but I think it's safe to say that Boyce Hydro and the federal government are both at fault. I'd love to know why their license was revoked by the federal government, yet there was no follow-through as to whether or not the company made the improvements that got their license revoked in the first place.
More bureaucratic BS and failed infrastructure, affecting Michiganders. It sounds like the Flint water crisis all over again.