Smallwood Lake Dam Overflows After Edenville Dam Failure
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2020
- Floodwater unleashed by two dam failures in Midland County, Michigan, overflowed the nearby Smallwood lake dam.
Drone footage shows brown water rushing through the Smallwood dam as a bulldozer pushes rocks into the water to stem the flow.
Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County and encouraged residents to evacuate or relocate to local shelters.
Credit: Robert J Harrison via Storyful
Original video: • Smallwood Lake Dam ove...
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A drone video without annoying background music?! I didn't know this was possible.
Where is Casey Neistat when we need him this most.
This is crazy I hope everyone is safe. The sound of the water is just insane.
You'd be surprised how a landslide sounds... That sh!t is even scarier!
JKB I live in Sanford it really bad I cryed.....
Who would've thought something like this could've happened when you neglect and under fund your almost 100 year old infrastructure systems
Well said and i stay on the ISLE OF SKYE even here we have heard about how appaling your american infrastructure is...lol
@@kolloduke3341 Oh just look at those UK flood maps! ;-)
well to be fair there are some much older dams than 100 years, but maintenance is one thing that is required. You would think they would have funding for that at least. But then again stuff sometimes just happens, not necessarily because of neglegt.
@@Lilliz91 there is more than enough funding, but the US government spends it all on bombing the shit out of the Middle East. Biden just increased the military Budget even more than Trump did.
If the US cut military spending by 1/3, it would still be spending more than the next 8 highest spending countries combined, which are almost all allies of the US.
Then the gov would be able to fund infrastructure upgrades across the country.
Most major infrastructure in the US was built back in the 1950’s, and US politicians have been to busy catering to hedge fund managers and multinational corporations since then.
If they invested in a major infrastructure overhaul they could spur the economy, create jobs, and overall increase quality of life across the whole country.
Instead they are cutting taxes for the rich, and lying to average voters about giving any kind of stimulus during COVID
Bingo!! Govt says “keep paying your taxes…we’ll decide on where to spend it”.
Water is so incredibly powerful! Prayers 4 the homeowners and all affected. Nature vs. Man
Workers: "boss how do you want us to handle this situation...?"
Boss: "Eh, just push some rocks into the water, that'll stop it."
Probably trying to stop the water spraying out of the gatehouse from washing out the berm and weakening it further
Sandbags.
Ced8897 maybe they should try paper or scissors 😂
Hahaha 😂😂😂👍 you were so right. Useless
Dwayne Seidl 😂😂😂
Fact correction, Smallwood dam did not over flow because the Edinville dam collapsed. Smallwood dam is up stream from Wixon Lake and Edinville.
The bulldozer guy putting the rocks over the edge there is remarkable! That ground could give away and he could go anytime. He's right on the edge. He's a Carrier of very large Kahuna's!!
He's got BALLS and piling driven deep in the ground behind him.
The guy who's really in danger is the one who's backed himself into a corner with heavy equipment operating a few feet away.
@@bobjames6284 the bulldozer isn't going to spontaneously turn left and slowly crush the man to death so.....
@@jacobt1045 - Never assume that your co-workers know what they're doing. Never letting yourself get backed into a corner is a basic rule for working around heavy equipment, whether it's a bulldozer, forklift, or tank. This guy's probably an office pogue and doesn't know any better.
Put a moving boulder in a moving torrent and it will only help to pulverize and dislodge stationary material.
The rushing water sounds like a jet engine.
@@cechk01 you aren't too bright are you
Patrick Barry umm have you ever seen a waterfall? Those things are LOUD!
@@cechk01 - If it is, they did a good job. I live in an area known for flash floods, and that's exactly what it sounds like.
Perhaps its a directional microphone - It only picks up sound directly in front of the microphone. Maybe, not sure. Patrick is right that you should hear at least something of the propellors.
Sounds like my PS4 Pro 😊 but I love it
The rare mussels that were washed downriver have all found new homes and it's been a complete success.
So happy the state took the dam
Owner to court to have the lake leveled raised in an effort to save these mussels.
unbelievable. i live in lower michigan, and i remember the rain that weekend. i had no idea all this damage was caused. wow... hope they can get everything fixed up.
You doze the rocks down there so you'll have something to stand on while you apply the flex tape .
Phil Swift is an American Hero
You got a fuckin idea!!!
No shit, they don't build or fix anything like they used to. Flexseal. Hahahaha. 👍😂😂😅
LOL! A dam overflow is a serious matter but your comment made me chuckle!
loll
That person pushing the rocks/dirt at the end, that's a gutsy soul who deserves hazard pay.
in the early footage from the drone. we see that emergency spill way is doing what it was designed to do. The "secant" wall that separates the main dam structure from the emergency spillway is holding the water away and introducing it down stream a bit. We do see some "head cutting" occurring as the deeper portion of erosion creeps closer and closer to the dam wall. It looks like this structure withstood being over topped and the emergency spillway worked as designed.
Are you a hydrologist or something?
you are correct; the emergency spillway did it's job, and that old dam survived.
@@Moose803 no i am not yet i have studied earth dam failures quite a bit and followed the Oroville disaster and learned more about preventative engineering and structures.
@@raybankes7668 Engineering? Structures? A bus full of Dutch kids could have prevented this, lol!
This was the worst case scenario the engineers designed it for. Unfortunately what they assumed to be a worst case scenario is looking like it’s gunna start to be a regular occurrence. US really needs to increase their infrastructure funding the same way they always increase their military budget
I just cannot get over the fact that these fragile little soil berms are referred to as Dams.
Try getting up close to one.
Keep America Great!
It's a bit more then that.
I know right? In Louisiana we have levees that make these things look like ant hills.
@@yeeturmcbeetur8197 You are also below sea level. Midland is roughly 600 ft above sea level. This isn't a pissing match.
I applaud them trying to save the ship, but that's an exercise in futility.
This video is from the 19th, Smallwood was the first dam to fail and is upstream from the other two. I saw this footage ON the 19th. Same exact footage.
@@recoveringsoul755 regardless of the date, that's like ants trying to fix a mountain. I watch the drama unfold over at Oroville when they were having their problems, and man was that somethingI was amazed that they were actually able to save that one without Oroville being washed off the map.
@gothicman03
two little two late*
@@timbaldwin6283 too little too late. ( two = #2 . )
@@MrDmadness Their both idiots...
At least the emergency overflow system is working properly. So far...
All that erosion is going to undermine the damn
Oroville dam 'springs' to mind
@@SiegePerilousEsauMaltomite I was thinking the same thing. I wonder how long this can last at that rate.
Negative on the maneuver ghost rider!
Yea
I’m starting to think you had something to do with it, you got prime drone footage. Your secret is safe with me
It's not safe with me
@Amor Fati sorry brother diddnt mean any harm
The US Tyranny and Michigan Tyranny to send their gun and badge thugs to cage the videographer for suspicion of causing the collapse and for disseminating state secrets of the damn collapse in 3..2..
saw this exact footage on the night of the 19th. Smallwood dam failed FIRST, then water flowed into Edenville and that one failed, then Sanford. The channel I was watching reported on Smallwood within minutes of it failing, as obvious with the dump truck of rocks and bulldozer. The next day on the 20th the media was only reporting 2 dam failures. THIS video is from the 19th because that is when I watched it. Saw it first on a FB link someone sent in.
Watch Inventor Lee Wheelbarger channel and you will see this video clip, from the 19th. This is not AFTER edenville, but BEFORE and a contributing factor in the other two dam failures.
Recovering Soul Mother Nature is unstoppable. Beautiful but dangerous at the same time
How the hell did they get the audio too? Normally drone video is silent, but someone took the time to get audio on the ground and synch it up with the video.
Go pro drone. It's a thing.
@@nukacola3795 audio seemed too clear to be on a drone, and it was not really tied to the shots all the time.
When *I saw this video clip on the night of the 19th* , because Smallwood dam failed FIRST and is upstream from the other two and a contributing factor to the other two dams failing, the FULL video clip ended with the drone flying back to the people who were operating it. Someone posted a link to a FB post where I watched this video clip. Not sure who the original owner of the footage is. But this fake news channel wants money and is reporting fake news. This was the first dam to fail, as reported by Inventor Lee Wheelbarger channel on the night of the 19th when he was streaming LIVE for 5 hours.
Nuka Cola Does gopro have a silent drone? Have you been around a drone before?
@@recoveringsoul755 It didn't fail. The left abutment was designed to wash out during high floods. That's why the sheet pile wasn't extended into the left abutment.
1:22 is the water flowing from the window of the basement? Dam, that's crazy
"Dam, that's crazy"
...I see what you've done there
:·p
Not so much a basement, that's a powerhouse, where the hydroelectric turbines are. The head pressure is so great that the water breached the seam between the concrete and brick of the powerhouse
@@85bbenjaminfan Does that mean whole generator's room is flooded?
@@schooldb3556 not necessarily, underneath the turbine room lies tunnels, one for each turbine. They're designed to be a narrow space so the water during normal conditions pressurized and spins the turbines with great force, producing optimal efficiency for generating electricity. Chances are the pressure built up so much that a stress fracture in the concrete opened up to allow the water to escape. Whether the fracture was intentionally placed there or not is up for debate, typically this is why dams have floodgates. These are supposed to open to relieve the pressure behind the dam when the water crests during flood season. Clearly they didn't do their job this time, but from what I understand, these dams along this stretch of the river were old and in bad need of maintenance anyways, so chances are their failure was destined to happen
From my understanding, Smallwood is upstream of Evenville. The title implies cause-effect, which is not the case - only chronologically.
Smallwood is above Edenville , my sister lives on Wixom lake , been up there helping everyday since it flooded.
Much like celery, Michigan is now 90% water.
We were already 90% water, now the only thing left above sea level is Mackinac Island
@Silvio Nunez ironic considering Flint
🏆Achievement Unlocked🏆
Best Comment 🥇
Contaminated water
What is that little load of rocks going to do?
Too much dam rain. This is a serious dam problem that needs to be addressed right away. I hope they can fix the dam thing.
Dam right
My husband was starting a hydro business a while ago and checked out these dams..they were bad then.. this shouldn't have happened..we know people effected..I'm angry! So should they!
The dams were all getting failing grades.
@@marionette5968 Many people voted for Trump thinking he was going to make some kind of change in their community ...sadly it never happened. I think it's fair to be disappointed in many.
@@sweetonyxakararegem692 I still remember Trump talking about our infrastructure and how in his travels he saw great infrastructure in other countries. Then before he's even installed in office he's fighting off every Democrat in Congress. Remember Flint's bad water with lead in it? That city is in Michigan too. Democratic city in a Democratic state. Democrats, where the taxes never reach infrastructure jobs. I guess the Dems see dams as walls.
@@lindacloudobserver9717 - Why don't you ask Rick Snyder about Flint, since it happened on his watch? Or about these dams, since he was in office for 8 years and did nothing, despite knowing that they were set to fail. Oh, he's a republican. 🙄
As for these dams, they are privately owned and the owners have been receiving fines for neglecting upkeep for years. Keep telling yourself how much better and more efficient the private sector is, though.
Lastly, Trump had majorities in both the House and Senate for the first 2 years he was in office, yet I didn't see an infrastructure bill. I did see a 1.5T tax cut for the rich, though. Funny, that.
@@sweetonyxakararegem692 lier how is a Michigan problem Trump's problems
He would have lost a lot of money even if the dams were in great shape. Even sorry CMS can't make money at .20 cents per KWh. They are so sorry they have to buy 25 percent of their megawatts. Every one was looking for a free lunch
Earthen dams will work well when properly installed and MANAGED. Yes, I know it was raining hard, but someone is supposed to know when to open the flood gate
Is this dam down river of the dam that failed? If so, there is not much you can do when you have a whole lake worth of water coming your way.
@@kattypatty8581 - Nope. This one is upstream.
@@kattypatty8581 wrong there was 3 weeks notice
@@dknowles60 from reading more about these dams, seems like they were very poorly managed......like criminally managed.
Our ranch earth dam gets Engineer clearance in BC Canada every three years, PLUS a govt. Eng. still comes, with his/her "list" and that's a dam for irrigation that's less than twenty years old, and shallow.
Finally a drone with real sound ! Thank you !😀
I don’t think so - I believe the sound was from a land mic & mixed into the drone footage later.
Thanks for the Load ! First I've seen Smallwood in this
Brilliant footage. Quite frightening to see the raw power of vast amounts of water.
Hugely useful for hydrologists like me, thanks for posting!
What did you learn from this?
@@overthehills_faraway8320 that water flows
The pushing of rock, for whatever reason, wasn't going to do diddly.
Especially where he was moving it to .😊
They were trying to save the building not block the water.
This was to try and stop the powerhouse outlet from eroding the dam. At least they tried. What did you do?.....
As a preparedness channel i have no clue how to prepare for a situation like this. But i hope everyone get prepare because this wont be the last disaster of the year. Praying for everyone safety.
Some things can only be prepared for by "reacting". You can prepare for a tornado by building underground bunkers and earthquakes with shock absorbing structures. Floods on the other hand take everything out. Fleeing is the only answer.
@@buixrule i can agree with that to a point. You have 5 mins or less to grab your stuff and leave. You can prepare by having stuff already packed like bug out bags or a tote with emergency supplies. Gear/food you would need to live for a few days outside your home
Got some Brave individuals in them vehicles God bless you.
STUNNING! Well done!
Engineers at their best . inadequately builds structures for the job at hand
Who are the two workers left there trying to plug the Titanic?.
Lol..probably they were high on something 😂
The Expendables?
That wacky fascist governor has them social distancing at 600 yards.
Trying to keep the brick power house from being undercut
@@AndyFromBeaverton cult 45: please inject disinfectants into your bodies to fight coronavirus.
Just so you know this was video of small wood dam it was before edenville dam breached. But edenville dam Is downstream. As a local contractor in the area all I can say is I've never seen so much devastation. It truly is sad. Great drone shots by the way
Sound of water overflowing is satisfying
Imagine watching this after 2 years and thinking it's new
Nice drone work! 👍
I just seen this flooding Disaster, My Prayers go out to everyone affected by this
Prayers for your health and safety
Top marks to who built that gate house, still standing for now
@Martin H I can't beleive it's still up, if it was built today it wouldn't be standing anymore
Tony Alston hey why are you pressed like do you need to talk about it
Martin owes Tony a sensuous back massage from a previous bet. And Martin is not holding his end of the bargain.
Its a water turbine power plant.
Are they pushing garbage into the waterway? Highly illegal.
You are way too pretty to be that funny.
Wasn't this the damn where the governor was advised to LOWER the water level but didn't. How much damage can this woman do to this state?
Privately owned and operated. Try again.
@@jasonvanwormer7642
Actually, this is the Smallwood Lake Dam. This dam is upstream from the Edenville Dam. The Edenville dam was the 1st dam to breach and caused the Sanford Dam to breach.
The Federal government revoked the 2018 license of the Edenville Dam.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) took oversight of the dam.
April 2020 EGLE sued Boyce (owner of the dam) alleging it had lowered water level in 2018 and 2019 killing thousands of freshwater mussels.
Looks like the environmental department did a "great job" keeping enough water in those lakes to protect those mussels.
www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/michigan-regulators-moved-fast-dangerous-dam-protect-mussels
Smallwood Lake is upstream of Edenville Dam. The title makes this sound like it's because of the Edenville damn failure. It's not. It's just more flooding and it's means things are going to get worse downstream than they already are.
In other words, the overflow of this dam caused Edenville to fail.
Great footage, great camera locations, great quality.
Well if you can read the “Danger Stay 200’ Feet From Dam” sign- your already dead 😂
Looks like they’re hustling to back fill, so they don’t loose the whole control building and gates.
😂. Pointless. Idiots need to get away from danger.
@@letswalkinthewoods1462 holy s..t; there's no need for that guy standing right next to the bldg. and in front of the dozer. if that thing goes, it's gonna goooooooooo
@@dwightstjohn6927 strong like bull... Smart like dump truck..
Nice job shooting this
Great vid!! 😃😃
I feel like the video "Smallwood dam approach" really puts into perspective, how much water there is below the gates.
I spent years fishing that very spot. What a mess. As of today 12.3.23, a lot has been restored. I'm looking forward to seeing the lake back to it's preflood depth.
Weren’t the dam operators able to predict their storage capacity and ability to release water when storms were forecast?
One word....Wuflu
Force to raise lake by court order
“ Now thats alot of damage, flex tape can fix that ” 😃
Phil Swift drove by in his "sawed in half" boat lol
LMAO
EXTREMELY POWERFUL!!!
that spillway needs to be at least twice the size for that amount of water to flow through
It's to late now they should have opened these 2 or 3 days ago.
The lake was actually emptied early this month and then they got fined for dropping it too low which killed a bunch of animals so they were ordered to fill it up again which was completed on the 10th I think
two*
@@AustinMichael I suppose it hell if you do hell if you don't
Dude on bull dozer is a real hero
There is erosion damage at the base of the dam. If the damn survives it is going to need extensive repairs
It won't.
It's gone forever. Mi don't have 2 billion dollars
prayers from Canada
That is a tough little dam.
Am I missing something?... The dam UPRIVER from this one has 6 spillways and this one has 2..... and the spillways look about the same size.
Very friggen intense...I hope that the People livinG in the area will be okay!!! Thanks deeply for sharinG your dramatic drone video shots with us!!!✌😇😭
Not really a failure, the earth dam that overflowed is built a little lower than the rest of the dam. Was designed to overflow to prevent the entire dam from failure.
Mother Nature having her way with us, again!
Good effort to try and save the powerhouse. Hope you guys were successful.
That’s more of a levee with a valve than a dam lol.
If you live beneath a dam or levy.
Move.
There are going to be more of these. I believe.
There is a news report about it happening somewhere in Virginia. 2020 is kicking butt and taking names.
Yea the Dutch ain't moving. They are moving the sea though. ;-)
You go 'believe'? We will build real walls.
Definition: Futile: that dozer pushing into the breach.
Says a dude convinced by the imagery that the operator was convinced he was stopping every drop of water, not just trying to protect the foundation of the building.
That might not hold up,you should dig a area put to relieve it's pressures in a shallow area that water can release out and not harm homes,just a little will help!
Another reminder not to mess with nature........nice footage btw
Damn now I really gotta go!
I am Kurdish and I am proud
God bless Iraq and Kurdistan
Wow everything could fail on that Dam did. I really hope no people died. Good luck to the people of Michigan
The dam upstream failed and sent an oceans worth of water rushing downstream. It's still standing..
If that water could talk, it might say something, like, get the heck out of the way, I'm coming thru! Such a pity that can't be running into lake Mead or lake Powell. No shortage of water, just a matter of not being where it's needed, or being where it's not so needed. Thanks for the video! Great view! Those drones sure do a fantastic job! That man on the Dozer nearly gave me a heart attack, brave guy, he knew right where the soft edge was! 🙀
Where is this ? Is this Michigan?
Man, this is scary stuff!
When was the last time that these dams were inspected ? Just curious !
The people pushing those boulders into that must really hate the people downstream.
hope folks watch to the end
I find it fascinating how the earth disappears on the other side of the dam. If I'm not mistaken, it indicates that water finds its way through the dam!
I dont know if it's been said in the comments but it's a miracle it wasn't a domino effect, Wixom lake was 1.1 trillion gallons and emptied in 1 hour when the Dam failed.
I suspect that now, finally, these dams will receive some restoration work.
Whitmer is the Governor so probably not President Trump will easily handle the problem
@@lobowolf9406 if that's the case where is the promised $trillion investment on rebuilding American infrastructure?
@@lobowolf9406 - Snyder was in office for 8 years before Whitmer, what did he do to fix these dams? Nothing.
Never mind that these dams are privately owned, so all Trump has done in 3 1/2 years is give the owners a nice tax break, which may have covered the fines they have been racking up for years due to failing inspections.
Damn dam! Where's the kayakers.
So sad seeing these lakes still gone. Drive by them often. Gone.
Were the just adding mass?
Not surprising since we get a months worth of rain out off every thunderstorm now
Mother Nature is so powerful!
Wonderful time!
Damn that’s crazy
That bulldozer is wasting its time
The water sounds so Strong......
God, this is the climatic weapon of Russia ..
Good footage, absent a bunch of idiots commenting on something they know nothing about. Having said all that, this is oddly very relaxing. I think i shall take a nap.
Nice to see you join your idiot club of 1. Neat.🤣🤦♂️
How far inland is the water flowing?
DaveSteele07
All the way to the ocean.
How far are they from the ocean ?
I was nervous for the heavy machinery operator so close to all that
This dam didn't fail; it performed exactly as intended. The rightmost part of the embankment is designed to be overtopped when the flow rate of the river exceeds the spillway capacity. This is what is supposed to happen.
I think the video was talking about the failure upstream, which caused the flooding in this lake.
So the erosion doesn’t effect foundation maybe just the rocks
The flex tape guy is out of control with all these dam breaches
Damn Dam!!! You had one job!!!
Not a warm and fuzzy feeling when the water is eroding the BACK FACE of the dam! Nibble nibble here, nibble nibble there and OH SHIT there goes another boondoggle