Sturgis Dam
Sturgis Dam is a dam with a hydroelectric power station on the St. Joseph River in Michigan. Background The Sturgis Dam was the first municipal water power plant built in Michigan. It is currently named after the city who owns it and paid for its construction. The dam is about away from the city of Sturgis which owns and operates the plant. The citizens of Sturgis passed a bond for a cost of $190,000 (equivalent to $ in ) for the construction of the dam by a vote of 779 to 47. Construction for the dam started in 1909 and the dam started producing power on September 3, 1911. Today the plant produces less than 4% of the city's electrical needs. It has been estimated that the city's operation of the plant has saved the city $56.6 million by reducing or eliminating the need to buy power from Indiana Michigan Power. History When the dam was being voted on local municipalities had just been given the right to use eminent domain for construction of projects like this. However, the use of eminent domain was not used to secure the necessary right. At the time there were no other dams upstream