- It's unique and different.

And so, it's important that we w owner and the community and all the stakeholders to create that that are important to all of us, and then weigh the pros and cons during the decision-making phase as to what to do with this - [Stephanie] As Michigan's dams figuring out the best way forwar - The collaboration of federal, and private entities is crucial to the success of a d - [Stephanie] Kim Balke is with the Conservation Resource Allian Their mission is river restorati Northwest Michigan.

When it comes to dams, they provide information to dam owners through the decision-maki - And then, if they decide to re we fill that project manager role in collaborating with the p helping with the fundraising, in the design, permitting, construc all of those phases.

- [Stephanie] We met Kim at the not far from downtown.

It's seen its share of destructi including 2010, 2011, and 2019.

The dam is currently going throu long process of being removed an up reconnecting 12 miles of main - So, Baldwin Dam started out in supporting a sawmill and a grist It was transformed into a water source for the nearby railroad.

And in the '20s, it became a tro So, it was in state ownership as for a good 50 years or more.

And fast-forward to today, it's The structure is not being used anymore for its original purpose And the current owner would like restore the river here and not h and liability associated with al The owner of the dam contacted C purchasing the site and asked if the removal and restoration.

- [Stephanie] There are anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 dams in Mich Some are owned by the state, and Every single one of them require maintenance and repairs over the And that adds up.

- Dams are just a huge issue.

They're in the news, I feel like Probably the biggest issue with is the fact that repairs to dams And the question often comes dow for the repairs to a dam if, ind it is going to be repaired.

- [Stephanie] Mark Tonello is with the Michigan DNR Fisheri He's seen the damage and destruc caused by dam breaks and failure - From a fishery standpoint, obv fish kills, habitat damage.

But from a human standpoint, it damage to public infrastructure like roads and bridges and road and then private infrastructure and yards and outbuildings and a - [Stephanie] Now, to understand can be so devastating is to unde the purpose and flow of water.

- One of the primary functions o is to move sediment downstream.

That's what they do.

That's what they've been doing s since the glaciers receded.

When you build a dam in a stream And that impoundment essentially acts as a sediment trap, where the sediment falls out and settles on the bottom of and does not pass downstream.

Especially when there's a catast That's when the sediment can be And this is a hundred years of s piled up behind a dam, released can be an utter catastrophe.

- [Stephanie] The impoundment is the lake that's created by th With the sediment having nowhere Dams also block the passage of f making it harder for some specie But some dams today do serve an purpose in helping control the s - If they did not do that, the f and love in Lake Michigan-the sa the steelhead-that would disappe And so, a dam that blocks sea la is one that we've got to have so discussions about before we just So, we do like to look at every dam on a case-by-case basis and, you know, look at the pros, And a lot of times, the discussi keeping the dam would cost so mu Removing the dam would cost less And then, if you keep the dam, you're going to have to pay in t for even more maintenance.

So, a lot of times, the discussion for maintenance v comes down to economics.

- [Stephanie] Dams can break and In 2020, the Edenville Dam and t suffered catastrophic failure af The destruction was swift.

A massive surge of water drained displacing thousands and causing hundreds of millions of dollars Dams that meet a certain height requirement are inspected by the Department of Environment, Great In recent years, they've increas inspections and safety plans.

But it wasn't always that way.

- In about 2019, there was-it wa I was the only one in the progra So, when you're stretched that t you're really focused on making sure that the inspections are do that permits are getting issued but then your ability to do comp is limited to only the most seve So, you're doing a lot of triagi This can't wait."

Now, we're up to eight people in so we have much more staff.

And then, we have more frequent We're being more proactive with things like that.

So, since the Edenville failure we have staffed up and increased So, we are much better off in te to stay on top of all of our day but then also devote more time to compliance and enforceme We are much more proactive at tr ahead of emergencies and encoura owners to take necessary action have a potential dam failure on - [Stephanie] The aftermath of t also changed how EGLE prioritize - I think what we've done is usi risk-informed decision-making pr which is, we need to understand Risk is kind of a combination of of failure if it were to fail, but what is the likelihood of th So, if we understand that this d has a high likelihood of failure risk or a high consequence if it that's one of our riskiest dams.

We need to devote resources, spend more time with that dam ow identify funding potential.

- [Stephanie] Whether an existin it all boils down to money.

Who's going to pay for it?

Especially with costs usually we - The reality is that we are rec more applications for dam remova It's not very easy.

So, there's a lot of environment considerations and costs associa So, I would say that rehabilitat or kind of reconstruction, or removal of a dam-none of it a The difference being, dam remova has more public assistance avail There are grant opportunities fo stream restoration, habitat rest from the federal government, fro So, I think that it comes down t A lot of times, for dam owners, "Hey, the folks around the pond We've got a cost estimate from o to rehabilitate and bring the dam into modern safety stand That cost is very high.

The cost of removal is also very but we can get the majority of t covered through grants.

That becomes the path forward."

- [Stephanie] For those living o about buying waterfront property knowing if it's controlled by a Both EGLE and DNR are able to he learn about nearby dams before p You just need to reach out.

- Most of the time, when folks buy property on an im there's no guarantee that the im is always going to be there.

And so, that is a risk you take if you purchase quote unquo "waterfront property" on an impo You know, that can be a risk.

The problem with maintaining dam a gift that keeps on giving.

And so, if you're going to maint It's not a one-time cost.

You got to pay now, and then you got to pay again th time it needs repairs.

They may see their property valu the impoundment goes away.

On the other hand, they might have streamfront prop is valuable as well.

It depends on the property owner the impoundment, you know, who o - [Stephanie] Change can be a ch In Baldwin, the years-long proje the old dam continues.

Kim tells us the decision to rem dams is one that's never taken l but she's seen the rewards for h - So, the most common questions get from people with dam removal "What are we going to do with all the sediment or the imp What will the downstream impacts You know, having a river activel What will public access and use And where is the river going to You know, where is it going to f throughout that impoundment?"

It's rewarding to see a sediment warm-water impoundment be return to the river or creek that it or You know, we are reconnecting mi upstream to miles downstream.

How we're managing that sediment moving it around to daylight, yo the creek or the river.

It's rewarding to see fish and w and aquatic insects, you know, come back and inhabit those reac be able to move freely up and do