Report Says Michigan 2020 Dam Failures Were ‘Preventable’

Report Says Michigan 2020 Dam Failures Were ‘Preventable’
Debris rests at the spillway of the Sanford Dam in downtown Sanford, Mich., on July 30, 2020. Jeff McMillan/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.—The failure of two Michigan dams that forced evacuation of 10,000 people and destroyed 150 homes was “foreseeable and preventable,” resulting from errors and miscalculations over nearly a century, an expert panel said Wednesday.

The Edenville Dam on the Tittabawassee River in central Michigan collapsed May 19, 2020, releasing a torrent that overtopped the downstream Sanford Dam and flooded the city of Midland. Damages exceeded $200 million.