Resource

2003 Fuse Plug Failure at Silver Lake Dam, Michigan: A Look Back at the Lasting Impacts

Resource Type
ASDSO Conference Papers
Reference Title
2003 Fuse Plug Failure at Silver Lake Dam, Michigan: A Look Back at the Lasting Impacts
Author/Presenter
Lepsch, Carmen
Pawloski, James
France, John W.
Richards, Greg
Organization/Agency
Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Publisher Name
Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Year
2023
Date
September 17-21, 2023
Event Name
Dam Safety 2023
Event Location
Palm Springs, California
ASDSO Session Title
Session 14: Decade Dam Failures Series Part II
Topic Location
Michigan
Abstract/Additional Information

EXTENDED ABSTRACT ONLY - The emergency fuse plug spillway at Silver Lake Dam in Michigan failed on May 14, 2003, resulting in a nearly complete release of the reservoir. The dam was modified in 2002 to increase spillway capacity with construction of the fuse plug spillway. A fuse plug spillway is an engineered earth embankment section designed to fail sacrificially to prevent failure of the main dam structure. Silver Lake Dam is located in the Dead River Basin, a tributary to Lake Superior, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The main stem for the Dead River extends 25 miles with five impoundments which are part of a hydropower generation system licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and owned and operated by a regional utility provider. Silver Lake is the upstream most impoundment in this system, and it is used for water storage and does not have power generation facilities.

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