Dam Information
Lake Holiday Dam
The Lake Holiday Dam is the highest dam located on the north end of Upper Silver Lake. The face of the Lake Holiday Dam is on the property owned by the Upper Silver Lake Association known as Outlot J. This dam is maintained by the Oceana County Drain Commissioner who is also responsible for maintaining the water level of Lake Holiday as determined by the Oceana County Circuit Court.
Upper Upper Silver Lake Dam
Upper Upper Silver Lake is the small lake to the northeast of Upper SIlver Lake. Property owners around Upper Upper SIlver Lake are in plat 8 of Upper Silver Lake Improvement Association. The dam itself is outlot "I". This dam is monitored and maintained by the USLIA.
During the October, 2014 board meeting, board members approved repairs on the corrugated pipe and spillway of Upper Upper Silver Dam. The corrugated pipe had failed at the base of the face of the Upper Upper Silver Dam and needed to be replaced to prevent significant erosion and potential structural problems. The project began in November 2014 and was completed in the spring of 2015.
Upper Silver Lake South Dam
The Upper Silver Lake South dam is the lowest elevation dam on Upper Silver Lake. The dam was engineered and developed in 1963-1965. It is approximately 700 feet in length with a water drop box with grate and a spillway pipe that runs through the dam to control the water level of Upper Silver Lake. The discharge water goes into Hunter Creek. In addition, there is a spillway that is designed to take additional high water generally resulting from a high rain event over the top of the dam eventually entering Hunter Creek. The spillway also acts as a boat launch ramp for Association members.
This dam controls the water level of Upper Silver Lake and is currently monitored and maintained by the USLIA. If the dam would fail catastrophically, the USLIA and its members would forfeit control in the repair/rebuild process. The county drain commissioner would step in to select the design, the contractor, and the construction technique. If water would have to be lowered in the lake, and in the process cause our lake to be unusable for a season, the county would make this decision.
It is important that the USLIA and all members be proactive in monitoring and maintaining this dam.
The most recent dam stabilization and improvement project was completed by the USLIA in 2016. The State of Michigan requires that this dam be inspected every three years. Inspections were completed in 2019 and 2022.