Wixom Lake

Wixom Lake was a reservoir in the U.S. state of Michigan.[1] It was named after Frank Wixom, who was instrumental in building the Edenville Dam.[2] Unusually for its size, Wixom Lake boasts a lighthouse on Musselman Island.[3][4] Since 2019, an agreement to buy the dam and reservoir by the Four Lakes Task Force from Boyce Hydro L.L.C. was in place until the dam failure,[5][6] a "county-delegated authority", under the State of Michigan.[7] Since 2018, the impoundment is regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).[8]

The lake typically has a surface area of 1,980 acres (8.0 km2), a shoreline of more than 84 miles (135 km), a maximum capacity of 66,200 acre feet (81,700,000 m3), a normal capacity of 36,000 acre feet (44,000,000 m3),[9] and a maximum depth of 40 feet (12 m).[1]

Normal Elevation, in feet, of Tittabawassee River reservoirs
Lake NameSummerWinter
Secord750.8747.8
Smallwood704.8701.8
Wixom675.8672.8
Sanford630.8627.8

Wixom Lake is the third in a series of four reservoirs along the Tittabawassee River. Each is controlled to a lower elevation during the winter flood control season and a higher elevation during the summer recreation season.[10] In April 2020, Michigan's EGLE sued the dam's operator, alleging it had lowered Wixom Lake's water level without permission in 2018 and 2019, killing thousands of freshwater mussels.[11][12]

Incidents

2018–2019 lake draining and lawsuits

The water level in the lake was lowered by its operator in 2018 and 2019. It said it had requested permission from Michigan's EGLE, which failed to issue it. Despite the lack of a permit, it said it lowered the water "due to concern for the safety of its operators and the downstream community", and it proceeded to sue EGLE in federal court on April 29, 2020.[13]

The following day, EGLE countersued the dam's operator, alleging it had lowered Wixom Lake's water level without permission, killing thousands of freshwater mussels.[11][14]

2020 dam failure

In May 2020, when the Tittabawassee River flooded, one of the Edenville Dams failed where it was unable to keep the lake from draining and requiring evacuations downstream. Governor Gretchen Whitmer subsequently declared a state of emergency for Midland county. Requests to also aid Gladwin county residents is under review by governors staff. [15]

gollark: WHY
gollark: There really is a Wordart, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Wordart is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Wordart is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Wordart added, or GNU/Wordart. All the so-called Wordart distributions are really distributions of GNU/Wordart!
gollark: Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Wordart, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
gollark: I'd just like to interject for moment. What you're refering to as Wordart, is in fact, GNU/Wordart, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Wordart. Wordart is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.
gollark: It's actually GNU/Wordart, not Wordart.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wixom Lake
  2. Smith, Jerry. "Genealogy of Gladwin area place names". Gladwin County Record and Beaverton Clarion. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. Price, Cathy Nelson (May 23, 2007). "Musselman Island: Est. 2001, pop. 2". Midland Daily News. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  4. Jason (September 8, 2007). "Wixom Lake Lighthouse". Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via Flickr.
  5. Chris Clor (24 April 2019). "Task Force Agrees to Buy Dams, Restore Wixom Lake in Gladwin Co". 9 and 10 News. Retrieved 20 May 2020. Wednesday the task force announced it agreed to buy the Wixom, Sanford, Secord and Smallwood dams from Boyce for nearly $9.5 million.
  6. Lyden, David (25 April 2019). "Wixom Lake Levels Expected to Return to Normal as Task Force Agrees to Buy Dams". 9 and 10 News. Retrieved 20 May 2020. The Four Lakes Task Force agreed to buy Wixom, Sanford, Secord and Smallwood dams from Boyce Hydro for nearly $9.5 million
  7. "Four Lakes Task Force, as Delegated Authority for the Counties of Midland and Gladwin, Michigan" (PDF). Gladwin County, Michigan. Gladwin County Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020. the Four Lakes Task Force, in its capacity as the County Delegated Authority for the Four Lakes Special Assessment District
  8. Erin Ailworth; John D. Stoll (20 May 2020). "Failed Michigan Dam Lost License in 2018". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 May 2020. After its license was revoked by FERC, regulation of the Edenville dam was taken over by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy in 2018. Spokesman Nick Assendelft said the agency inspected the dam in October 2018 and found it structurally sound
  9. "Wixom Lake". ww5.findlakes.com. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  10. "Frequently Asked Questions". Four Lakes Task Force. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. Flesher, John (20 May 2020). "Michigan dam had repeated safety violations before flooding". Washington Post. Associated Press. The company twice lowered Wixom Lake's level without permission after the federal license was revoked, said Nick Assendelft, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which has overseen the Edenville barrier since its federal license was withdrawn [...] A lawsuit filed April 30 says the lengthy drawdowns in 2018 and 2019 killed “thousands, if not millions” of freshwater mussels, many listed as endangered species
  12. Riley Beggin; Mike Wilkinson; Kelly House, Bridge Magazine (20 May 2020). "Feds revoked dam's license over safety issues. Then Michigan deemed it safe". Retrieved 21 May 2020. State officials alleged Boyce's dams lowered the lake without permission in 2018 and 2019, and sued the company in April alleging the actions killed "thousands if not millions" of endangered freshwater mussels.
  13. Garret Ellison (21 May 2020). "Failed dam owner fought with state over Wixom Lake levels before flood". Booth Newspapers. MLive. Retrieved 21 May 2020. Boyce says it asked EGLE for permission to lower Wixom Lake last fall “due to concern for the safety of its operators and the downstream community.” EGLE and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources denied the request. Boyce lowered the lake without approval in mid-November “believing its safety concerns were paramount.” Boyce sued the state on April 29 in Grand Rapids federal court
  14. Riley Beggin; Mike Wilkinson; Kelly House, Bridge Magazine (20 May 2020). "Feds revoked dam's license over safety issues. Then Michigan deemed it safe". Retrieved 21 May 2020. State officials alleged Boyce's dams lowered the lake without permission in 2018 and 2019, and sued the company in April alleging the actions killed "thousands if not millions" of endangered freshwater mussels.
  15. Acosta, Roberto (May 19, 2020). "Residents told to evacuate after Edenville Dam failure in Gladwin County". MLive. Retrieved 19 May 2020.

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