Nonprofit helping restore 4 lakes in mid-Michigan that disappeared after dam failure

Dam failures flooded Midland County in 2020

SANFORD, MI – Four dams are being restored after catastrophic failures led to four man-made lakes disappearing in May 2020. The dam failures took away Sandford Lake, Wixom Lake, Secord Lake and Smallwood Lake.

Four Lakes Task Force, a nonprofit of career scientists, engineers, and volunteers, has taken over the project. The nonprofit states that they are two-thirds of the way finished with the rebuilding and refilling process.

$200 million in state funding was allotted for the restoration project. In addition to the state funding, $150-200 was added to shoreline homeowner’s winter tax bill.

Shoreline homeowners have mixed reactions to the increase in their winter tax bill. Karen Hill, a homeowner said, “I’m mad, I’m very mad. Basically, we’re being punished for this, and it’s not my fault”.

Related: Report says Michigan 2020 dam failures were ‘preventable’

View of Wixom Lake, Thursday, May 21, 2020, after the water was drained after the Edenville Dam failed and flood waters rushed south, ravaging the landscape in its path, in Edenville Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Some residents do not carry the same sentiment. “It doesn’t bother me one bit. When you live on a lake, you’re going to have to pay for it,” says Sharlyn Schoenner Corbett.

Debris removal after the dam failure was a massive task.

“They counted over 4,100 trees, 100 boat lifts, there were probably 200 pontoon boats on the lake bottom of Sanford Lake,” says Dave Rothman, a member of the Four Lakes Task Force.

The new dams will have new technology not available when the previous dams were built. Watersheds are being stabilized to not only repair the waterfront but the ecological impact as well.

Debris rests at the spillway of the Sanford Dam in downtown Sanford, Michigan, July 30, 2020. The Four Lakes Taskforce wants to gain ownership of the Sanford Dam and three others after two of them failed in May, draining a string of lakes and flooding homes and businesses. (AP Photo/ Jeff McMillan) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

At the current rate, Secord and Smallwood dams will be restored in 2024, Sanford dam will be restored in 2025 and Edenville dam in 2026.

For upcoming meetings for the Four Lakes Task Force, plans, and other details -- click here.

Read more: What caused the Edenville Dam to fail in May of 2020? Report blames failure on ‘static liquefaction’


PHOTOS: Shocking mid-Michigan flood pictures show ravaged roads, underwater houses, floating cars


About the Authors:

Paula Tutman is an Emmy award-winning journalist who came to Local 4 in 1992. She's married and the stepmother of three beautiful and brilliant daughters. Her personal philosophy in life, love and community is, "Do as much as you can possibly do, not as little as you can possibly get away with".