Tobacco River Dam Spillway Demolition & Stop Log Removal - Wixom Lake Flood 2020 - Aerial

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Jordan Mowbray
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In this update we watch as the Tobacco River Spillway is lowered even further. Currently the spillway has been lowered 10 feet with 3 more feet to go. We started the morning by pulling stop logs, then removed some rubble and ended with breaking away more of the spillway to lower the water level. These stop logs are being used to lower the water level in a controlled fashion. Some people were wondering what was happening to the concrete as it was being broke, you can see this in the rubble that is removed. The rubble gets trapped behind the back of the spillway and the stop logs. This spillway is being lowered to prepare for spring run off as well as redirect water flow back over the Tobacco River Dam. This lowering will occur over many days as it is broken away and stop logs pulled. The Tobacco River is located on what used to be Wixom Lake. Wixom Lake is located in Mid Michigan. This footage was filmed on March 05, 2021. This was after the collapse of the Edenville Dam on May 19, 2020. Wixom Lake was rapidly rising due to heavy rainfall and the Edenville dam could not hold back the water. The side of the dam failed sending water rushing towards Sanford Village. The aftermath and damage left behind is devastating. Make sure you subscribe to catch the follow up videos I will be filming.
24/7 Live Cam GoFundMe Pages:
Edenville Dam: gofund.me/74000118
Sanford Dam: gofund.me/7d4c6627
Secord Dam: gofund.me/14fdc542
Smallwood Dam: gofund.me/114f0f86
Edenville Dam Live Camera Feed: camstreamer.com/redirect/3fe6...
Tobacco River Dam Live Camera Feed: camstreamer.com/redirect/a682...
Sanford Dam Live Camera Feed:
camstreamer.com/redirect/a50f...
Footage is available for license and special footage can be contracted to be shot upon request.
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Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro 2017.
Filmed By: Jordan Mowbray
This video is copyrighted. Do not use without prior permission.
0:00 Introduction
0:30 Pulling Stop Logs
15:20 Rubble Removal
30:56 Spillway Demo
39:01 Timelapse

[@bobmichalak2874]

Thanks Jordan for all the videos the average guy never would’ve saw these kind of things without you being there thanks again

[@JordanMowbray]

I appreciate that! Thanks for watching Bob!

[@kurtbaker4078]

My very thoughts. Thank you, Jordan. Your drone shots really put into perspective of the sheer force of the flood. Unbelievable.

[@JordanMowbray]

@@kurtbaker4078 Thanks for watching! :)

[@LadyJ5569]

So much progress. So happy to see the water flowing its original path. Beautiful work Jordan with the drone and the video. Thank you so much.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks so much!

[@timothystevenhoward]

Thanks again. I love to see this. Also great job on the "weir" comment. It is indeed a weir they built downstream to control the flow.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for watching!

[@TimBinns68]

I love these videos. You'll have something to show your kids and even grandkids some day.

[@JordanMowbray]

That is true! :)

[@BogWraith1]

The 40 minutes flew by! The processes of all the repair work is fascinating to watch and the thinking behind the engineering that Fisher puts into their planning plays out by the systematic and coordinated efforts of the crews at the site. Thanks Jordan, as always, for bringing this continued story to us!

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@calvinthedestroyer]

The sped up clips at the end are so soothing! Great video! so cool that they let you film the operations

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@richardbillups7764]

Llllllllllll

[@rebeccamccoy1763]

I enjoyed the video Jordan. The details and inner workings that most of us would have never seen in our lifetime. Good job.

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@daveotto2190]

Fascinating to watch, thank you for all you do to bring this to us.

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kevinmoe4417]

Thank you for the putting in so much of your own time to bring us these awesome videos! Braving the cold wind and noise always isn't fun, but some of this footage is really great ! Thank you!

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for watching. I do have to give the thanks to the crews that are out there every day braving this cold making us safer.

[@Ps114REXIVD]

It took me a long time to watch this because I will watch a bit and then go do something and come back and watch again...BUT then I thought about you being there and filming all the footage and editing it too...that's a tremendous job! I really appreciate this video and what you do to bring this to us. Thank you!

[@JordanMowbray]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@jeffdunnell508]

That's all so interesting,such changes being made,awsome update Jordan 👍

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks so much!

[@jcsandberg2]

IM born and raised in Florida. Never even been to Michigan. However, I’ve watched everyone of your videos. I find it very fascinating. Also, that bottle is probably from the late 60s/70s.

[@JordanMowbray]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@lindahenderson3819]

Fantastic footage!

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@winstonmarajh991]

Never thought we would see all this amount of work being done so great thanks buddy !

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@williamlesh109]

Very interesting Jordan. Thanks for the video

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Rorschach.]

Thanks again Jordan - just the sort of coverage I'd been hoping for. Great work.

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you liked it!

[@nancytestani1470]

This is heavy, dangerous works..hope everyone stays safe over the years to reconstruct.. Take care. Fascinating

[@mikemcdonnell1395]

Great job! Been following you since the beginning

[@JordanMowbray]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@jeffriggs6703]

Good work, young man! Many thanks will come your way!!!

[@JordanMowbray]

Much appreciated!

[@Sam465]

I like all the detail of your videos, great job Jordan thanks.

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you like them!

[@jamesbrewer3020]

some very nice video of the action.

[@JordanMowbray]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@jesusisGod1434]

Awesome video! Thank you for your efforts.

[@JordanMowbray]

My pleasure!

[@chadwinslow5493]

Super cool !

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks!

[@stevemakowski9776]

Awesome video :)

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks!

[@raymondcoggins297]

Thanks again Jordan you out do yourself great video

[@JordanMowbray]

I appreciate that!

[@artmathias9725]

That is some beautiful wood!

[@johnstonlarry]

Nice work

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for watching!

[@allmostafelon]

welcome to the dam tour , ill be your dam guide .

[@chriscooper654]

Again, fascinating and expertly edited.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks again!

[@mountaincat2001]

Thank you jordan

[@JordanMowbray]

Any time!

[@GlobalistJuice]

Good explanation, good video, thanks.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for watching!

[@duncan.5228]

Very interesting video Jordan. I enjoyed watching the excavator at work. Keep showing these clips please. The weather is comparable to here in Scotland.

[@JordanMowbray]

More to come! Thanks for watching

[@theflyingdutchman7127]

Nice video work

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks

[@scottbecker3563]

Besides the old steam shovel that they pulled out of the lake. Did they find anything else interesting in the lake or river? A few months ago I asked if there was any old cars in the river. I believe you said there was and you were going to photo it.. But I never seen it.

[@JordanMowbray]

Only two cars that I know of. The one i filmed in the Estey Rd bridge video a couple months ago and there is a jeep somewhere as well.

[@gregcarnes80]

I watched the entire video.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thank you!

[@davemi00]

I used Giggle Earth to orientate myself to this 2 River fed Lake System. It seems a Bizarre Setup, imo. Very interesting tho. * The Power of Water is incredible, regardless of the dam size!

[@JordanMowbray]

Yes it is interesting. You can see why they call the area in the center the island. This area was cut off from the area when both M30 bridges were not accessible.

[@moneydog6317]

Nice video Jordan can you tell the people what they're going to do with all the stumps that they cut the logs off and they're still laying thank you

[@JordanMowbray]

Some people have cut off the stumps. This is allowable as long as the roots are left in tact in the lake bed. If stumps are cut off please remove them from the lake bed as when these are refilled it will cause a massive log jam downstream.

[@scottbecker3563]

Sprite is a colorless, lemon and lime-flavored soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first developed in West Germany in 1959 as Fanta Klare Zitrone ("Clear Lemon Fanta") and was introduced in the United States under the current brand name Sprite in 1961 as a competitor to 7 Up.[1] Sprite comes in multiple flavours, including, but not limited to, cranberry, cherry, grape, orange, and vanilla From Wikipedia

[@headsup65]

EXCITO EXCITO!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[@rdc008]

Great video, enjoy your commentary. Am sure you've answered this inquiry .... how long do engineers expect this project to finish ?

[@JordanMowbray]

The spillway lowering has been completed.

[@lucyyoung5307]

Hi Jordan. Do you know if the lakes will return to average level this year?....yeah, probably not. I find all this fascinating, thanks for all your time and effort, great filming. For security reasons you may not want to show the location of your cameras.

[@JordanMowbray]

The lakes will not be restored until at least 6 years. There is a long road ahead.

[@lucyyoung5307]

Oh no... well at least they will return. I hope the community is appreciative of the workers out in the cold weather.

[@JackFrost-mt5dh]

Bottle looks like it's from the 80's.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for the info. That was well after the dams were built then.

[@calvinthedestroyer]

@@JordanMowbray still a neat old bottle

[@davemi00]

What were the Stop Logs for ? As a Temp Fix/Repair procedure. Seems an Antiquated Way to Regulate Water Levels, if used regularly.

[@JordanMowbray]

The stop logs allow the water to be slowly dropped over time. With each log that is pulled the water level can be lowered one log at a time. All logs will be removed when the water level reaches the height of the new lowered spillway.

[@lwilton]

Breaker: That's correct, but many people also call it a hammer, and refer to its use as hammering. So while "jackhammer" was incorrect, "hammer" would be just fine by many people's lights. Of course it is also called a breaker, but so are a couple of other things.

[@earlharrisonjr4768]

What was the purpose of the logs

[@JordanMowbray]

The logs allow the water to be slowly dropped over time. With each log that is pulled the water level can be lowered one log at a time.

[@danielunger9340]

Are they going to replace the gates or they gonna keep it as is?

[@JordanMowbray]

It will stay as is for now until it is rebuilt and the lake restored

[@danielunger9340]

@@JordanMowbray that's good

[@waggtech8793]

Take the bottle to a grocery store and see if they’ll still give you the deposit back! Those era bottles were recycled/reused and you had to pay a deposit when you bought your drink. Unless it says no deposit/no return...

[@iansmartel5473]

That was before the‘Green Recycling’ thing was thought about and plastic was invented.

[@JeffreyGroves]

The Sprite returnable bottle is from the 1970s. No where near 100 years. I don't even think Sprite existed 100 years ago. I hope you picked it up and disposed of it properly.

[@johnlevings4494]

Jason, Great videos & commitment to reporting. Question: Does the rebuilding of the dams only postpone the eventual issue removing them ? ( dams are man made & fail sooner than anticipated, collect silt, disrupt natural processes, etc.) Thank you, -JL

[@JordanMowbray]

Potentially. Earthen dams will eventually fail if they are not maintained and kept up to todays standards

[@gotonowhere1]

Do you hear the water flows happy...or its just me

[@Hathorr1067]

Just watching this video makes my feet cold.

[@teamidris]

They will put the stop boards back in later? They call it a breaker because it is a ‘hydraulic rock breaker’ rather than a pneumatic hammer (or steam). The digger feeds high pressure oil to the breaker all the time as a steady flow. The breaker machine body has a rubber bag in a high pressure nitrogen chamber inside. The oil fills the bag storing energy. A valve opens and let’s all that oil shoot out into a piston and that’s when it goes DONK a and smashes the concrete.

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for the information. That is fascinating. The stop logs should not be needed any longer. They were just used to slowly lowered the water level.

[@teamidris]

@@JordanMowbray thanks :o) I was confused and wondering because if the water was to always be that low, why the temporary bridge? Might as well have back filled with dirt and a couple of drainage pipes in the bottom?

[@nyddubwarren]

So to think this is the first time in what 100 years (when the dam was built) that the tobacco and titabawassee river are not touching until its natural merge point? If i am thinking this correctly.

[@JordanMowbray]

hard to say if that confluence was the natural one back from that many years ago. They had been disconnected since the embankment failed but now with the flow restored they are once again connected at the confluence. The have become disconnected in the area under the M30 bridge however now.

[@JeffreyGroves]

What is the reason for rebuilding the dam? Isn't the impounded area completely filled with silt, so much that there's not much of a lake possible there anymore?

[@doreencrespo7133]

If they break away all that cement are they going to replace it with new? Does that affect the integrity of the damn taking away that cement?

[@JordanMowbray]

When the dams are rebuilt they will use new concrete. They left parts of the dam so that it is still structurally sound.

[@melstotyn9180]

Looking at Google Maps again, I noticed that there is another dam and a couple of spillways upriver on Tobacco River at Beaverton and Ross Lake. I take it these faired much better during the 2020 flood event. What's the history on them and why they aren't bundled into the Four Lakes task force? Different ownership I suppose and maybe don't need major repairs. Might be a nice comparison on how those spillways faired last year.

[@JordanMowbray]

You are correct. This dam is owned by that county and did not have the failure of the other dams last year. In general this dam is in really good shape. I am planning to go film at this dam this year as well.

[@melstotyn9180]

@@JordanMowbray I hope they give you good access, given the fine reportage that you have done on the Four Lakes Task Force dams.

[@vaalrus]

Are there any drawings of how the original spillways were constructed and operated?

[@JordanMowbray]

I am not aware of any. These would have to have been from 1924 and were most likely lost. I do have some old photos i will be sharing though.

[@peterdrake2316]

Are they lowering the dam level to repair the other parts of the dam wall and will they replace the spill way after that is finished?🇦🇺

[@JordanMowbray]

This dam has a new spillway already. You can see this on some of my previous videos at this dam. This was lowered to redirect flow through this dam again and remove some of the water going around the Edenville dam so repair will be easier over there.

[@mikekehoe2927]

Sprite wasnt around 100 years ago. Can you still get the deposit ?

[@handiman5001]

Bottle is probably about 15 - 20 years old -- I remember the bubble effect imprinted but when is a loss

[@JordanMowbray]

Thanks for the info

[@purplemoxie]

Just checked and the production of Sprite was 1961.

[@JordanMowbray]

@@purplemoxie Must have been after the dams were built then as they were constructed in 1924.

[@handiman5001]

@@purplemoxie Thanks Linda, like I said -- just when it was was a loss to me, I've seen the bottles, but they must have been in a collection or a museum thanks again for the correction

[@joeohms4274]

9:50 what are the 2 black sheets on the bank, top of the screen?

[@JordanMowbray]

I believe those are erosion control blankets. That property had a bull dozer push some of the lake bed back in front of their property last year during the summer.

[@aznboycols]

That's a lot of good wood that can be repurposed.

[@johnkmcgregor5209]

So what will be done with the huge area where the lake was? John Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@johnkmcgregor5209]

I should have watched the video to the end before commenting..... oops J🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@godbluffvdgg]

So, now the downstream will all be flooded? What was the purpose of the dam in the first place? Just curious.

[@JordanMowbray]

No the water was slowly lowered to mitigate downstream flooding. Why the dams were made is debatable but on paper the dams were made for hydroelectricity production. This dam did not produce hydro but the Edenville dam did.

[@godbluffvdgg]

@@JordanMowbrayOkay, thanks for the info! As a contractor, I'm glad to see guys using their Iron...:)...Good health and quick pay for you and yours...:)

[@russupsidedowntopbottom955]

how long had those slip logs been in the water?

[@JordanMowbray]

They were installed a couple of weeks ago. They were only in the water after the lowering had started so a total of just over a week.

[@moosescorner]

So with those stair steps is that going to be the new height of the lake or is that just temporary? while they rebuild a new spillway system?

[@JordanMowbray]

Correct. That will be the new height until the dams are rebuilt in the coming years and allowed the previous levels to be restored

[@jacobdittenhauser3838]

Thanks Jordan! So if I'm understanding correctly this is just a temporary solution until the earthen damn is brought up to standard and then this spillway will be rebuilt again to support that higher level on the tabacco? I think that's what Moose is asking as well

[@JordanMowbray]

@@jacobdittenhauser3838 Yes, that is correct.

[@melstotyn9180]

What are the concrete structures on the earthen dam portion on either side of M30?

[@JordanMowbray]

What time stamp are you seeing these?

[@melstotyn9180]

@@JordanMowbray Oh sorry, they don't show up well in this video since the earthen dam is covered with snow. I was simultaneously looking at Google Maps satellite view to orient myself. The one to the west of M30 is fairly close to the road and a similar one is further away from the road on the east side. Both on top of the earthen dam toward the lake side of the centre line. The zoom isn't enough to get a really clear view and the Google Street view angle has fences that block the view. On the M30 bridge update video (March 6 posting) you can see them both at 4:09 and 5:22; closer view of the west one at 5:37, the east one at 9:15.

[@JordanMowbray]

@@melstotyn9180 ahh ok i see what your looking at. The deck looking structures? That is a good question. I can take a closer look when im out there next time but they may just be little docks.

[@pandbkonya-venter9302]

Are they removing the dam completely

[@JordanMowbray]

No just lowering the spillway for now

[@davidhenry5134]

Sprite came out in the early 1960s

[@drive9997]

Pike are not spawning in my creek no more because of this mess

[@stevesmith-wc2gb]

It’s called a hydraulic breaker

[@tpep1693]

You better have your hard hat on

[@JordanMowbray]

Hard hat, reflective vest, steel toe shoes and safety glasses always

[@tomwilliam5118]

Why did they have to cut holes in the face of the Damned

[@JordanMowbray]

To lower the water level and re-direct flow back through the tobacco river dam

[@imchris5000]

its a shame they spent all that money on that temporary bridge just to have all the water drained a few weeks later. if they just waited they could of made a low level river crossing for very cheap

[@russell7489]

They probably want to shunt other river under bridge this wy maybe as they rebuild dam on other side

[@scottsevara54]

Deceiving. I thought they were Removing the dam. They are Rebuilding the dam. Wanted to see that river flow completely unimpeded. 😞

[@henryholliday1]

too bad the dam is being rebuilt