A final independent report from a forensic team backed by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials found that rapid, static liquefaction of earthen embankments caused the May 2020 collapse of the Edenville and downstream Sanford Dams in Michigan.
Heavy rains leading to a rather new phenomenon, static liquefaction of sand embankments, only previously observed in tailings dams led to property damage and flooding in central Michigan.
The pandemic has forced many asset owners to demand better models and maintenance of their infrastructure assets, giving engineering firms an opportunity to be data curators and analysts for everything from water systems to energy grids, executive says.
10,000 Midland County, Mich., residents were forced to leave their homes when heavy rains May 19 and 20 swelled the Titabawassee River to a record high and caused the Edenville and Sanford dams to fail.
Dam owners, state and local authorities must do a better job of understanding the history of the dams in their inventory as well as preparing for ice runs that could destroy dams like Nebraska's Spencer Dam, which collapsed under the weight of heavy rain combined with cold temperatures and frozen ground last spring.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is facing the challenges of a changing climates, the demands of river commerce in a changing economy and the needs of the other agencies it acts as a developer for simultaneously.