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MCD is maintaining and investing in its dams to prevent flooding like this in Michigan earlier this year.
Dam Safety
Preventing a dam crisis
Concrete repair analysis/design
MCD to receive FEMA grant
MCD will receive nearly $850,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to analyze structural stability and to design necessary concrete repair at three of its dams.
The funds will be administered through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
FEMA’s Rehabilitation of High
Hazard Potential Dams Grant Program is providing a total of $10 million nationwide. MCD will use its portion of the funds at three dams—Germantown, Englewood, and Taylorsville. Following analysis and design, MCD will have a clear picture of what future resources will be needed to make essential improvements at those three dams.
“MCD is grateful that we qualified for these very competitive grant funds,” says Janet Bly, MCD general manager. “This federal grant is critically important for maintaining the integrity of our flood protection system for the region.”
The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is especially true when it comes to flood protection. Even when that ounce could be in the millions of dollars.
Just a couple of months ago, a catastrophic failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams forced the evacuation of 10,000 people in central Michigan. Some places in the City of Midland saw about 10 feet of water. Total damages are still being calculated but are estimated at $200 million in Midland County. The cost to repair the dams is anyone’s guess.
In 2017, the Oroville (California) Dam, the nation’s tallest dam, experienced a crisis, forcing the evacuation of 188,000 people. Underground water pressure lifted a gigantic section of the spillway’s concrete floor and caused erosion of the foundation. Design flaws, complacency, and lack of maintenance were said to have contributed to the problem.
The state of California spent $1.1 billion on the repair—much more than anticipated.
Could an Edenville/Sanford dams or Oroville dam-type situation hit MCD dams?
“MCD’s engineers pay close attention to large dam incidents or failures so that we can learn from them,” says Kurt Rinehart, MCD chief engineer/chief of operations.
“Edenville, Sanford and Oroville dams are all very different from MCD’s dams, so similar incidents are unlikely. But the importance of maintenance exists with all dams.”
MCD staff maintains its dams on a daily basis. Professional engineers inspect the dams regularly. In addition to routine maintenance, MCD has made capital improvements to the dams over the years to ensure they work as designed.
Yet the concrete at MCD’s dams is 100 years old. The age of the concrete and the freeze/thaw cycles over the past century have taken a toll on the concrete.
MCD began a $2.6 million concrete rehabilitation project at Lockington Dam last fall to address concrete deterioration and drainage issues at the dam.
(See Lockington Dam story on page 3)
Protecting | Preserving | Promoting