Dams in Michigan

1,019 damsAvg age: 81 years

146

High Hazard

149

Significant

715

Low Hazard

Dam Safety in Michigan

Michigan has 1,019 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 146 (14%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 149 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 94 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in Michigan is 81 years old. Many of these aging structures were built before modern dam safety standards were established, which increases the importance of regular inspections and maintenance. The most common purpose for dams in Michigan is recreation, accounting for 691 of the state's dams.

The federal inventory is not every dam in Michigan. It includes dams rated high or significant hazard, plus low-hazard dams above a size threshold (taller than 25 feet holding more than 15 acre-feet, or taller than 6 feet holding more than 50 acre-feet). Small, older dams below that line are usually left out, even though they can still shape the streams around them. The state's own dam safety program often tracks many more, and it is the agency that inspects most of them.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in Michigan, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

Michigan Dam Facts

Total Dams	1,019
High Hazard Dams	146
Average Dam Age	81 years
Tallest Dam	210 ft
Largest Reservoir	277,540,000 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	94

Notable Dams in Michigan

Victoria210 ftHigh Empire Mine Tailings Basin Dam163 ftSignificant Forestville ( Dam 2 )130 ftHigh Gribben Tailings Basin Dam115 ftSignificant Ludington110 ftHigh

Explore Michigan Dams

Oldest DamsEarliest dams in Michigan Tallest DamsHighest dams in Michigan

Counties in Michigan

Alcona16 dams1 high hazard Alger3 dams1 high hazard Allegan22 dams6 high hazard Alpena5 dams3 high hazard Antrim3 dams2 high hazard Arenac6 dams Baraga6 dams2 high hazard Barry15 dams Bay1 dams Benzie5 dams Berrien16 dams2 high hazard Branch8 dams Calhoun8 dams1 high hazard Cass10 dams2 high hazard Charlevoix4 dams Cheboygan18 dams7 high hazard Chippewa12 dams1 high hazard Clare18 dams3 high hazard Clinton5 dams Crawford6 dams Delta8 dams2 high hazard Dickinson23 dams1 high hazard Eaton10 dams2 high hazard Emmet7 dams Genesee12 dams3 high hazard Gladwin21 dams5 high hazard Gogebic7 dams Grand Traverse11 dams3 high hazard Gratiot7 dams Hillsdale27 dams Houghton15 dams Huron1 dams Ingham5 dams1 high hazard Ionia14 dams1 high hazard Iosco13 dams4 high hazard Iron10 dams4 high hazard Isabella15 dams1 high hazard Jackson20 dams1 high hazard Kalamazoo22 dams5 high hazard Kalkaska2 dams1 high hazard Kent14 dams4 high hazard Lake9 dams Lapeer36 dams1 high hazard Leelanau4 dams2 high hazard Lenawee14 dams3 high hazard Livingston26 dams3 high hazard Luce8 dams Mackinac9 dams1 high hazard Macomb12 dams2 high hazard Manistee5 dams1 high hazard Marquette36 dams10 high hazard Mason4 dams2 high hazard Mecosta23 dams1 high hazard Menominee8 dams2 high hazard Midland6 dams4 high hazard Missaukee5 dams Monroe5 dams Montcalm11 dams Montmorency17 dams Muskegon6 dams1 high hazard Newaygo10 dams3 high hazard Oakland69 dams8 high hazard Oceana8 dams2 high hazard Ogemaw19 dams Ontonagon10 dams2 high hazard Osceola9 dams Oscoda14 dams1 high hazard Otsego7 dams Ottawa9 dams1 high hazard Presque Isle7 dams Roscommon14 dams1 high hazard Saginaw13 dams1 high hazard Sanilac4 dams Schoolcraft32 dams1 high hazard Shiawassee10 dams1 high hazard St. Clair9 dams St. Joseph17 dams5 high hazard Tuscola7 dams Van Buren4 dams1 high hazard Washtenaw29 dams8 high hazard Wayne14 dams8 high hazard Wexford9 dams1 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in Michigan

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Victoria	Ontonagon	210 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Forestville ( Dam 2 )	Marquette	130 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Ludington	Mason	110 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Hardy	Newaygo	106 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Tilden Recirculation Basin	Marquette	100 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Peavy Falls	Iron	96 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Hodenpyl	Wexford	90 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Tippy	Manistee	82 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Brule	Iron	79 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Michigamme Falls	Iron	72 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Prickett Intake & Powerhouse	Baraga	69 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Hoist	Marquette	65 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Little Quinnesec Falls Dam	Dickinson	65 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Mc Clure	Marquette	64 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Carp River Dam	Marquette	60 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Alcona	Alcona	60 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Carp Intake Dam	Marquette	57 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Secord Dam	Gladwin	57 ft	Unsatisfactory	Hydroelectric
Edenville Dam	Gladwin	57 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Foote	Iosco	51 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cooke	Iosco	50 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Escanaba No 4 Boney Falls	Delta	49 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Chalk Hill	Menominee	48 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Brown Bridge Dam	Grand Traverse	46 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Croton	Newaygo	46 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Ford Lake	Washtenaw	45 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Fallasburg Dam	Kent	44 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Norway Point	Alpena	43 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Rogers	Mecosta	43 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Meeuwenberg Dam	Leelanau	42 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Five Channels	Iosco	42 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Lake Isabella Dam	Isabella	41 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Cascade	Kent	41 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Loud	Iosco	40 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Bond Falls Control Dam	Ontonagon	40 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Misteguay Creek 4	Saginaw	39 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Holloway Dam	Genesee	38 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
French Landing	Wayne	38 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Mio	Oscoda	38 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Smallwood Dam	Gladwin	36 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Berrien Springs Dam	Berrien	36 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Sanford Dam	Midland	36 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Lake Lancer Dam	Gladwin	36 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Superior Dam	Washtenaw	35 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Doster Dam	Allegan	34 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Sabin Dam	Grand Traverse	34 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Clarkston Dam	Oakland	34 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Barton Dam	Washtenaw	34 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Little Black River Structure a	Cheboygan	34 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Tourist Park (marquette Dam 3)	Marquette	34 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cornwall Creek Dam	Cheboygan	33 ft	Poor	Recreation
Webber	Ionia	33 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Chappel Dam	Gladwin	32 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
La Barge	Kent	32 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Lower Stony Lake Dam	Macomb	32 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Moores Park Dam	Ingham	31 ft	Not assessed	Other
Little Black River Structure B	Cheboygan	31 ft	Poor	Flood Risk Reduction
Trowbridge Dam	Allegan	30 ft	Poor	Recreation
Impoundment No.1	Chippewa	30 ft	Not assessed	Tailings
Constantine	St. Joseph	30 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Silver Lake Main Dam	Marquette	30 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Adrian Dam	Lenawee	30 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Lower Menominee River Dam	Menominee	29 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Escanaba No 3	Delta	29 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Newburgh Dam	Wayne	29 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Geddes Dam	Washtenaw	28 ft	Fair	Recreation
Mill Creek Structure	Lapeer	28 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Ford Manchester Dam	Washtenaw	27 ft	Fair	Recreation
Holiday Lake Dam	Oceana	27 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Wilcox Dam	Wayne	27 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Four Mile Dam	Alpena	27 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Maple Lake Dam	Van Buren	27 ft	Fair	Recreation
Heron Dam	Oakland	26 ft	Fair	Recreation
Ford Dam	Baraga	26 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Morrow	Kalamazoo	26 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Addison Mill Pond Dam	Lenawee	25 ft	Fair	Recreation
Upper Silver Lake Dam	Oceana	25 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Cedar River Dam	Antrim	25 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Manistique Papers Dam	Schoolcraft	25 ft	Poor	Recreation
Sturgis	St. Joseph	25 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Little Black River Structure D	Cheboygan	25 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Carrier Creek Structure a	Eaton	24 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Upper Stony Lake Dam	Macomb	24 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Phoenix Dam	Wayne	24 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Rugg Pond Dam	Kalkaska	24 ft	Fair	Recreation
Grand Rapids West Side Dam	Kent	24 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Ninth Street	Alpena	24 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Wildwood Lake Dam	Cheboygan	23 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Hamlin Lake Dam	Mason	23 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Mottville	St. Joseph	23 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Buchanan	Berrien	23 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Hamilton Dam	Genesee	22 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Wildwood Lake Dam	Oakland	22 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Brooklyn Dam	Jackson	22 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Menasha Dam	Allegan	22 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Little Black River Structure C	Cheboygan	22 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Otsego Dam	Allegan	21 ft	Fair	Recreation
Middle Comstock Dam	Kalamazoo	21 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Waterford Dam	Wayne	21 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Muskegon Waste Water Lagoons	Muskegon	21 ft	Satisfactory	Other