WHITE CLOUD, Mich. – Lakefront property in one Michigan community has disappeared and a city beach has been drained after a potential dam failure caused the DNR to lower water levels by several feet.
It happened in White Cloud, roughly an hour north of Grand Rapids.
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The White Cloud Dam, first built 150 years ago and rebuilt in 1990 after breaking during a 1986 flood, is one of two dams on the 89-mile White River. The river begins in northern Newaygo County and empties into Lake Michigan near Montague and Whitehall.
City crews began lowering the water level late last month, dropping it more than five feet at a rate of about one foot per day. As a result, Lake White Cloud behind the dam is nearly dry, and properties that once had lakefront access no longer do. The city beach is now empty.
Downstream, the White River has turned brown and is lined with thick sediment and goo. Linda Carroll, who has fished the river near the dam for 25 years, said the water was once crystal clear and ideal for little brown trout.
“The river is what drew me up here. I like to fish, I love to be by the water. I’ve got a little bench down there I sit, just enjoy the, you can hear the water. It’s very tranquil,” Carroll said. “The water level’s nice, but the mud, not so much. I can’t see the fish. I can’t see the rocks to get in there to wade. You need to see where you’re going to fish.”
The state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) deemed the dam unsafe and a potential risk to downstream lives. The agency recently threatened legal action and fines up to $10,000 if the city did not lower the water to ease pressure on the dam.
A supervisor from the state’s dam safety unit told WOODTV 8 that the sediment flowing downstream has caused a pause in lowering the dam’s water level. The water could take weeks to clear.