By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich-More cash is flowing into the village dam.
On Monday night the village council voted 4-0 to approve $26,300 to repair a breach in the village dam. The cost includes $21,800 for Midland-based Fisher Contracting and $4,500 for Wade Trim. Council President Pro-Tem Tim Light was absent with notice. The meeting was at village offices.
Troy Andrews, Wade Trim project manager commented on the extent of the repairs in a report to council.
The locations for the dam repairs are on the western side of the westernmost first pier where the concrete comes into contact with the angle iron and western side of the second pier from the west bank. The project will include repair to the concrete spalling, the source of the leak. Spalling is the result of surface or sub-surface fatigue, which causes fractures to form in the running surfaces.
“While this should not be considered a long-term solution to the ailing dam structure, it will provide immediate repairs to address the specific area of the deteriorated structure at the point of the breach,” wrote Andrews regarding the project summery.
“We are need to be getting a plan for our dam issues,” said Sheri Wilkerson, village administrator. “We’ve been doing this every six years, spending $30,000 to put a Band-Aid on.”
DPW Director Matt Mayne said a cofferdam should be considered and has consulted Wade-Trim on a proposal.

“The dam is becoming a money pit,” said Mayne. “(The cofferdam) will be similar to the Atlas Mill Pond, the water will regulate itself, there’s no more opening gates it just maintains its own water level.”
According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) the downstream hazard potential of the Goodrich dam is “Significant.”
“The significant hazard rating has nothing to do with condition; rather, it’s based on the downstream impact if the dam were to fail,” said Lucas Trumble, dam safety engineer of the MDEQ dam safety unit, who completed an inspection of the dam in 2016.
“The rating is not related to the likelihood of failure. There’s a bus garage and a few houses downstream on the Kearsley Creek that could be impacted. However, it’s not a large scale disaster. The dam’s fair condition assessment means it is not expected to fail under normal flow conditions,” added Trumble.
The dam repairs are adding up for the village.
In 2013 significant seepage near sinkholes in the soil embankment just east of the dam’s spillway were reported. In at least two instances the soil gave way under foot. There were no injuries. The sinkholes were an indication of a breach suspected by village officials and dam engineers from the old dam.
On Feb. 11, 2014 the village council OK’d a pair of proposals to help rectify the leaky, more than 100-years-old dam. The village council moved forward with a proposal from Midland-based Gerace Construction for $43,925 to determine the cause and repair of the leaching village dam. Details of the process included removal of the westernmost watergate to drain the mill pond, excavate down about 13 feet (approximately 70 cubic yards of material), and repair leaking joints on both the north and south sides of Hegel Road. In addition, the council also OK’d, for WadeTrim to assist in obtaining permits, contractor coordination, site observation and documentation of the project. The cost to the village is an additional $8,000 according to the agreement.