Dams in Berrien County, Michigan

16Total Dams
2High Hazard
1Significant

Dam Safety in Berrien County, Michigan

Berrien County has 16 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 2 are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life. Another 1 carry a significant hazard classification. Currently, 2 dams have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory.

The average dam in Berrien County is 94 years old. The most common purpose is recreation. The tallest dam is Berrien Springs Dam at 36 ft.

DamHazardConditionHeight (ft)PurposeYear
Berrien Springs DamHighSatisfactory36Hydroelectric1908
BuchananHighSatisfactory23Hydroelectric1895
Dayton Lake DamSignificantSatisfactory18Recreation1833
Chikaming Springs Farm DamLowFair28Recreation1968
Jelinek DamLowNot Rated25Recreation1956
French Paper Company DamLowNot Rated22Hydroelectric1887
Forkers DamLowNot Rated21Recreation1966
Yellow Creek DamLowPoor19Irrigation1948
Denardo DamLowNot Rated15Recreation1976
Trickett DamLowSatisfactory14Recreation1969
French HydroLowSatisfactory13Hydroelectric1914
Paw Paw Lake Level Control StructureLowFair11Recreation1987
Welch DamLowPoor10
Grand Mere Lake Level Control StructureLowSatisfactory8Recreation2007
Oronoko Lakes DamLowSatisfactory7Recreation1917
Watervliet DamUndeterminedNot Rated11Recreation1849