Rural dam on O’Neal Lake in Emmet County has failed, is undergoing drawdown
Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 09/09/2014 04:15 PM EDT|
Recent heavy rains may have led to the dam failure. |
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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 9, 2014
Contact: Katie Keen, 989-385-0336; Burr Mitchel, 231-436-5381; or
Brian Mastenbrook, 989-732-3541 ext. 5430
Rural dam on O’Neal Lake in Emmet County has failed,
is undergoing drawdown 
The O’Neal Lake Dam in Emmet County recently failed and water levels are being reduced. The dam is located along Big Sucker Creek in Bliss Township and forms a 150-acre flooding, known as O’Neal Lake. This dam is owned by the Department of Natural Resources and land downstream of the flooding is public land, including Wilderness State Park.
“The heavy rains may have led to this failure,” said DNR Wildlife Supervisor Brian Mastenbrook. “We are currently drawing down the flooding in order to do safety inspections and assess our options.”
The O’Neal Lake Dam is listed as a low-hazard dam and should not affect downstream private residences. The dam is made up of approximately 140 feet of earthen berm and a spillway. A bridge was in place over the spillway for snowmobile use in the winter and walking traffic in the summer. Several private inholdings are located upstream of the dam on O’Neal Lake.
“The water levels should be reduced to prevent any further damage to the earthen berm and water control structure,” said Department of Environmental Quality dam safety engineer Jim Pawloski, who assessed the dam. “Drawdowns are not always popular, because they’ll temporarily put water levels below ideal conditions for some, but it can’t be prevented in events like this.”
O’Neal Lake will remain at low water levels until the earthen berm and spillway problems caused by the washout are addressed.
“We have already begun contacting the landowners that border the O’Neal Lake Flooding,” said Mastenbrook. “Wilderness State Park will remain open to campers. Contact Burr Mitchel at 231-436-5381 for camping and trail updates.”
The dam on O’Neal Lake in Emmet County has suffered significant washout damage and the lake is now undergoing a drawdown./