The condition and hazard assessment of Manchester Michigan dams has been discussed lately. I wonder how many know what those assessments really mean, even by all members of the council.
Both Downtown and Ford dams are rated FAIR and High Hazard. The Broucek Dam is currently rated FAIR with Low Hazard.
Removing the Ford Dam and allowing development of the resulting property surrender by one private interest would have upstream implications not addressed in the GEI engineering report (see post on speculation).
These ratings have existed for many years and Manchester Michigan council has knowingly exhibited reckless disregard addressing the concerns. Recovery grants are ignored, maintenance has been incomplete for the structures, expansion of existing facilities is allowed and new building was allowed below the dams.
Definitions follow and links for reference. It’s interesting that High Hazard defines just about any down stream damage, but without “significant” being clearly defined.
• Condition Fair – No existing dam safety deficiencies are recognized for normal loading conditions. Rare or extreme hydrologic and/or seismic events may result in a dam safety deficiency.
• “High hazard potential dam” – means a dam located in an area where a failure may cause serious damage to inhabited homes, agricultural buildings, campgrounds, recreational facilities, industrial or commercial buildings, public utilities, main highways, or class I carrier railroads, or where environmental degradation would be significant, or where danger to individuals exists with the potential for loss of life.
Michigan Dam Reference – https://egle.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=f8c0637f34864bcbabb9c794fd8e452b
Condition reference – https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/egle/Documents/Groups/MDSTF/Presentation-2020-09-08-Dam-Safety-101.pdf?rev=3de71c2d64244eb3983ea68475d90261
Hazard Potential reference – https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-324-31503
What's next? 