In May 2020, heavy flooding brought about the ruinous failure of the Edenville Dam embankment, sending a wall of water downstream in the Tittabawassee River and totally draining Wixom Lake. The breach wave speedily overpowered the downstream Sanford Dam, overtopping and failing the structure. Over 10,000 residents in Sanford, Midland, and Saginaw were evacuated. The autonomous forensic team charged with exploring the event released an interim report in September 2021. The conclusions of the report involve a conversation of a comparatively uncommon phenomenon in earthen dams. Let us travel through the investigation to try and comprehend what occurred.
IFT Interim Report (PDF): https://damsafety-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/files/Edenville-Sanford_Interim%20Report_Sept2021_Final.pdf
Practical Engineering is a YouTube channel about infrastructure and the human-made world around us. It is hosted, written, and produced by Grady Hillhouse. If you enjoyed the video, hit that ‘like’ button, give us a comment, or watch another of our videos!
SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES
____________________________________
Please email my agent at practicalengineering@standard.tv
DISCLAIMER
____________________________________
This is not engineering advice. Everything here is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Contact an engineer licensed to practice in your area if you need professional advice or services. All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.
SPECIAL THANKS
____________________________________
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images, Shutterstock, Pond5, and Videoblocks.
Just a heads up we here who live in Michigan prefer to be addressed as Michigander and not “Michiginder”
And I learned a lot in this video as I myself never heard of this story
Used to swim in Sanford lake every summer. When this happened it was tragic for those who lived in the path of the destruction.
If we look at the soil mapping units in that area, we see that the Selfridge series is backed by Pella and Ingersoll series. What they all have in common is “an abrupt smooth boundary” between the Ap and E horizons, indicating a discontinuity in clay content and overall structure right at the base of the dam.
Thanks for the great explanation!
I’m quite surprised that George W. Bush didn’t called up Governor Whitmer to congratulate her on what a heck of a job she was doing. He likes to compliment people who are largely useless or just downright incompetent.
I’d love to see a video about Brumadinho and Mariana dam catastrophes (Brazil).
Regulatory agencies underfunded? HAHAHAHA HAHA HA HA HA! Thanks for the laugh! Government agencies are always underfunded due to waste. More waste = more funding. If you’re efficient you’ll get less money next year.
Why nuclear power is even safer than hydropower.
#35 on trending!
I used to go to Sanford Lake quite a bit as a kid. It’s a real shame to see it in the state that it’s currently in.