Betsie River - Dams

Dams

• Homestead Dam 44°35′48″N 86°04′48″W / 44.59667°N 86.08000°W / 44.59667; -86.08000 was mostly removed in 1974 and currently acts as a lamprey barrier. It impounds little water and does not impede salmon migrations. The remains of the dam are now sometimes called "Homestead Falls". The dam was a power generating facility formerly owned by Consumers Energy.
• Grass Lake Dam, approximately 4 miles (6 km) downstream from Green Lake, forms an approximately 90-acre (36 ha) impoundment. The dam was constructed in 1951 to improve waterfowl habitat and northern pike fishing. The dam was installed by the state Wildlife Division and created a 482 acres (195 ha) waterfowl flooding.
• Thompsonville Dam was an old power dam that failed in the spring of 1989 and was subsequently removed. Prior to its removal, the dam posed a barrier to salmon migration. Salmon and trout have access to the entire mainstream of the river, even above the Grass Lake Dam.