Michigan’s dam failures are just a small part of America’s aging infrastructure problem
America has 90,000 damns listed in its national inventory, including the Hoover Dam, seen here. However, many of them are in need of repair. (Pixabay/)Two broken dams in midland Michigan have prompted the evacuation of more than 10,000 residents. The Edenville and Sanford dams were expected to reach peak flooding around 8 pm Eastern Time last night, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer told reporters at a midday press conference. Last night, Governor Whitmer sent an official request to President Trump for federal aid. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this couldn’t have come at a worse time, but the breakage of these dams didn’t shock Mark Ogden, coauthor of an American Society of Civil Engineers report card that gave America’s aging dam infrastructure a D and highlighted the urgent need for change—three years ago.“Dams like that shouldn’t be failing,” Ogden told Popular Science. “They should be properly maintained and upgraded. Unfortunately, in many...