Michigan lawmakers failed to act for five years on recommendations from a government task force that concluded the state's aging inventory of dams required immediate attention.
Before widespread flooding threatened homes and businesses across northern Michigan this spring, state leaders did not proactively take steps to prevent the frequency, occurrence, severity or just the magnitude of the crisis now unfolding.
"We are in crisis mode all over, partly because of the weather and partly because we did not proactively take the steps to prevent the frequency, occurrence, severity or just the magnitude of how many places we're struggling with at this moment," said Bryan Burroughs, executive director of Trout Unlimited.
Burroughs was on the safety task force with 18 others, including Bill Rustem, who was an adviser to multiple Michigan governors.
"The Legislature has done almost nothing," Rustem said of the lawmakers' reaction to the 2021 recommendations.
The task force's 59-page report specifically asked state officials to take meaningful action to advance all the recommendations.
"The potential human and economic costs of business as usual are far too great to ignore," the report added.
Hundreds of high-hazard dams need nearly $1 billion in fixes, according to a 2025 report by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.
There are 2,552 dams of different sizes scattered throughout Michigan, according to the Michigan Dam Inventory.
There are 247 dams considered high or significant hazards, meaning they could cause major damage if they were to fail.
The 2021 task force report said, at that time, more than 80 percent of Michigan's dams were older than the nominal 50-year design life.
Unlike some dams in the U.S., those in Michigan are not primarily intended to protect against major floods.
They often hold water in impoundments, but those impoundments are usually kept mostly full.
They can hold some additional water during heavy rain or snowmelt, but they can't keep up with major water flows.
That's when dam safety teams have to open gates to let additional water downstream or into emergency spillways.
Otherwise, water can overtop and damage the dam.
When Buck's Pond Dam in Alcona County failed, it sent water into Hubbard Lake. The road above the dam washed away.
The dam is small and privately owned, but was rated in satisfactory condition during its last inspection in 2017, according to state records.
Although the dam was not at risk of failing, Newaygo County emergency officials on Thursday told residents downstream of Consumers Energy's Croton Dam to evacuate as water levels rose on the Muskegon River.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources workers have been shoring up the Cheboygan Dam all week, where water was mere inches from the top of the structure.
Residents were told on Thursday to be ready to evacuate.
But on Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Consumers Energy helped the state get the hydroelectric equipment at the dam operating again for the first time in three years, allowing more water to pass through the facility, resulting in an immediate drop in water levels.
The flooding in northern Michigan is setting streamflow records, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's monitoring.
Infrastructure like dams and culverts that pass water under roadways isn't capable of handling that much water.
"Climate change has increased the likelihood of major rain events like the one walloping Michigan this week because warm air holds more water," said Jonathan Overpeck, a University of Michigan climate scientist.
"When you get the meteorological conditions ripe for storms, you can get more intense storms and more intense precipitation," Overpeck said.
"It's all because of the warming, and the warming we know with really high confidence is due to human activities, mainly the burning of fossil fuels. As long as we continue to burn fossil fuels, it will get worse, and warmer and warmer. As it does, the atmosphere will be able to hold more and more moisture."
What we're seeing now is certainly going to get worse before we stabilize it.
Dam safety in Michigan was in the national spotlight after the Edenville and Sanford dams failed in 2020, causing dramatic flooding in downstream Sanford and Midland.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration created the Dam Safety Task Force following the 2020 Midland-area dam failures.
The group's final report included 86 recommendations for improving dams in Michigan, such as helping fund dam improvements and removals, adopting legislation to give dam safety workers more power, and requiring dam owners to prove they are financially capable of maintaining dams.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials reviewed Michigan dam safety in September 2020 and determined Michigan has not invested in the safety of its dams for many decades, and the needs have accumulated as the dams have aged.
The association said Michigan should increase dam safety staffing, strengthen enforcement, help fund dam safety projects and more.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has since reshaped its dam safety unit, spokesman Jeff Johnston said.
The unit now has nine safety workers and an administrative assistant — far more than the two people working in dam safety when the Edenville and Sanford dams failed nearly six years ago.
The department also has taken a tougher stance on problem dams, Burroughs said, and gives owners less leniency if their dams don't meet safety standards.
That effort wasn't matched by lawmakers.
Former Republican state Sen. Rick Outman of Six Lakes introduced a bipartisan bill in 2021 to beef up the state's dam safety law, including increased inspection requirements and requiring dam owners to coordinate with local emergency management officials, keep maintenance records and provide financial assurances for their projects.
The bill didn't gain traction in the Legislature.
Likewise, the safety task force called for a $20 million annual spending commitment in a loan fund for dam improvements, maintenance and removals.
"The task force's goal is to minimize dam safety risk and provide viable avenues for dam rehabilitation, maintenance or removal," the report said.
But lawmakers only passed minimal changes to existing regulations.
State Rep. John Wickham, D-Trenton, said the Legislature has been reluctant to allocate additional funding for dam safety improvements.
"We've been trying to get this done for years," Wickham said. "But it's a tough sell in a budget that's already stretched thin."
Burroughs said the Legislature's inaction puts Michigan at greater risk for future disasters.
"The Legislature has done almost nothing," Rustem said.
"It's kinda like you were in a big accident and the Legislature just wants to hand you a Band-Aid," Rustem said.
The task force's goal is to minimize dam safety risk and provide viable avenues for dam rehabilitation, maintenance or removal.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials reviewed Michigan dam safety in September 2020 and determined Michigan has not invested in the safety of its dams for many decades, and the needs have accumulated as the dams have aged.
The association said Michigan should increase dam safety staffing, strengthen enforcement, help fund dam safety projects and more.