Croton Dam (Michigan) - Impact and Controversy

Impact and Controversy

While Croton advanced the state of the art in hydroelectric engineering, it also submerged significant sections of scenic and fast-flowing stretches of the Muskegon and Little Muskegon rivers. Some conservationists believe that Croton Dam and the other dams on the Muskegon divide the 219-mile (352 km) long river into shorter, ecologically dysfunctional units. It blocks passage of fish from one river section to the next. It allegedly causes potentially harmful changes in water temperature and oxygen levels in a stretch of the river downstream of the dam, according to company data.

The dam was threatened by rainfall during the flood of September 1986. The Croton and Hardy nearly failed during the peak of the flood, caused by a storm that dumped 14 inches (36 cm) of rain on West Michigan in 48 hours. Consumers Energy officials stated that "had the Hardy Dam failed, the Croton Dam would have been washed away and every community from Croton to Muskegon would have been submerged under several feet of water".

Subsequently, in 1989, Michigan state fisheries director John Robertson characterized hydroelectric dams as "concrete and steel monsters" and suggested 11 Consumers Energy dams be removed from the Muskegon, Manistee and AuSable rivers. Local officials then gathered petition signatures from 14,000 people who supported keeping the dams. The federal government has relicensed the dams through 2034, but has required operating changes reducing their harmful effects on the Muskegon River.