CS14A - Concurrent Session 14A: 2003 Fuse Plug Failure at Silver Lake Dam, Michigan: A Look Back at the Lasting Impacts – DFIC Decade Series

The emergency fuse plug spillway at Silver Lake Dam in Michigan failed in 2003, resulting in a nearly complete release of the reservoir. The dam was modified in 2002 to increase spillway capacity with construction of a fuse plug spillway. A fuse plug spillway is an engineered earth embankment section designed to fail sacrificially to prevent failure of the main dam structure. The root cause of the failure at Silver Lake was deep erosion of the foundation of the fuse plug spillway that resulted in release of the reservoir through the emergency spillway channel. Due to the design and operation of the facility, the fuse plug pilot channel elevation was lower than the elevation of the concrete spillway and associated stoplogs; this resulted in premature fuse plug operation that contributed to the failure. Downstream flood impacts included the cascading failure of Tourist Park Dam, evacuation of approximately 1,800 individuals, widespread damage to infrastructure, economic losses, and severe environmental consequences.

This case study will describe the failure mechanism of the dam as well as the immediate and lasting impacts from the flooding. It will also highlight the need for engineers and regulators to disseminate and understand best practices information related to dam design and construction, such as the need for an erosion-resistant base to limit the depth of fuse plug erosion. Several other lessons learned regarding the importance and effectiveness of Emergency Action Plans will be discussed.