MIDLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The Sanford Dam is back in operation nearly six years after its failure, marking a major milestone for a community still recovering from widespread flooding and the loss of Sanford Lake.
Officials said water is beginning to return to Sanford Lake, with full restoration expected by Memorial Day, a development long awaited by lakefront property owners who have lived with a dry lakebed since 2020.
For years, residents looked out over exposed mud where water once filled the lake.
Now that gates are reopening and water levels are rising, officials and homeowners said lake life is finally returning.
“This is a time of celebration for us because April 15 is here, and we have our permit for our dam, and our water’s going to start coming up,” said Matt Smith, a Sanford homeowner who bought his property a year before the dam failed and experienced flooding in his home.
Smith said he chose to stay and rebuild rather than leave the community.
“You start to look out, and you see more of that water that’s extending across where you normally would have riverbed,” Smith said. “It was like, ‘Oh, I do remember what it looks like when there’s water there.’”
Sanford Lake was drained after the 2020 failure of the Sanford Dam, part of a broader disaster that devastated communities in Midland and surrounding areas.
The event displaced residents, damaged homes, and reshaped the local landscape for years.
Now, residents say the return of water signals both relief and renewal.
“My boat has been in storage since 2019. So I’m anxious to get it back out and get out there and see my neighbors and be part of lake life again,” said resident Rebecca Schamel.
Drone 4 footage showed water slowly reclaiming areas that had remained dry for years.
Recent heavy rainfall has helped accelerate the refill process.
In downtown Sanford, residents and business owners described renewed energy as construction wraps up and docks are reinstalled along the shoreline.
Some homeowners said landscaping projects are nearing completion as they prepare for the return of summer lake activity.
“I just could not believe that this would have happened to our lake,” said resident Dennis Kucharczyk. “And now to see behind me, to see the new levee, to see the new gates, to see the dam, it’s incredible. It’s exciting.”
Kim Borchard described both excitement and financial strain associated with long-term recovery efforts, including assessments related to dam reconstruction costs.
Still, she said she feels confident in the changes made to prevent future failures.
“I do feel that they had a long time to prepare for this and to fix it,” said Borchard. “So I do feel confident that going forward there’s never going to be an issue.”
Officials said that if conditions continue as expected, Sanford Lake should be fully restored by Memorial Day, a symbolic turnaround for a community that has spent years waiting for water and normalcy to return.