Edenville Dam Failure – Overview of the Event and Tobacco Spillway Mitigation

Edenville Dam, constructed in 1924, is a homogenous earthfill run-of-river dam across the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers forming Wixom Lake. Edenville Dam has a jurisdictional height of 54 feet, length of 6,200 feet and a storage capacity of 66,200 acre-feet.

Over a 48-hour period, May 1618, 2020, heavy rainfalls, ranging locally from 6 to 8 inches, hit mid-Michigan, concentrating in Arenac, Gladwin, Iosco, and Midland Counties. Subsequent rainfall from the evening of May 18, 2020, through the afternoon of May 19, 2020, placed additional stress on many dams located on the Tobacco River and Tittabawassee River systems, including the Chappel and Beaverton Dams on the Tobacco River and Secord, Smallwood, Edenville, and Sanford Dams along the Tittabawassee River. Around 5:30 p.m. on May 19, 2020, The Wixom Lake rose to within a foot of the dam crest when a portion of the 96-year-old Edenville Dam's earthen embankment on the Tittabawassee side failed, resulting in an uncontrolled release of Wixom Lake toward the Town of Edenville, Sanford Lake, and Sanford Dam. (Continued)