LANSING, Mich. – The Association of State Dam Safety Officials' (ASDSO) review of Michigan’s Dam Safety Unit was presented at a meeting of the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force. READ: Michigan department publishes dam failure reportIt concluded that Michigan’s program is understaffed and constrained by limited time, resources and budget. Officials said Michigan’s investments in dam safety have been lacking for decades, which increases the risk to public safety and the environment. Currently, Michigan’s program has two dam safety engineers and one supervisor with a third dam safety engineer to be hired soon. In the Fiscal Year 2021 there is funding for hiring two more dam safety engineers.

Theyre frustrated that the owners of the Edenville Dam are ignoring deadlines, so they issued them an emergency order. The Edenville Dam failed May 19, leaving 11,000 people evacuated and 2,500 structures damaged by the 500-year flood. With Tuesdays emergency order, Boyce Hydro is forced to alter the Edenville Dam to ensure public safety and have that project done by the end of the year. State officials believe that is the best option to address dam safety concerns right now. They will take a look at Michigans Dam Safety Program and an independent investigation is looking at the factors that led to the dam failure.