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French Hydro Dam, Michigan
French Hydro Dam on the St Joseph River in Michigan.
Open in BirdTrout41.8176, -86.2591 · Berrien County · NID MI00537. Tap the map to open this water in the live app.
What the runs do here
St Joseph River carries no anadromous run on our corridor map, so this page makes no claim about salmon or steelhead at this dam. What it sits on is coldwater — resident trout water — and the section below says which classification says so.
The structure
- Owner
- French Hydro LLC Private
- Purpose
- Hydroelectric
- Completed
- 1914
- Type
- Arch
- Height
- 13 ft
- Length
- 321 ft
- Spillway
- Controlled
- Storage
- 1,600 acre-ft · 110 acre pool
- Drainage
- 3,666 sq mi
- Condition
- Satisfactory · Low hazard potential
- Status
- Normal Operations
From the National Inventory of Dams (USACE). Hazard potential is a downstream-consequence classification, not a statement about the structure's condition.
The water above and below
- Brandywine Creek 0.61 mi from the dam · Cold stream (MDNR VSEC) · typed Cold
Coldwater designation is the state's own classification. A dam sits on one river and this list is every designated reach within a mile and a half of it, so a tributary mouth shows up here too.
Water right now
| Gauge | Distance | Temp | Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph River at Niles, MI | 0.8 mi | 64.4 °F | 4,070 cfs |
| Dowagiac Creek at Dutch Settlement Rd Nr Dowagiac, | 17.5 mi | 59.4 °F | 43 cfs |
| Osborn Drain at Dewey Lake St Nr Glenwood, MI | 19.1 mi | 58.6 °F | 12 cfs |
Live from USGS. A gauge miles away is a gauge miles away — the distance column is there so you can discount it. A hydro dam's releases move the flow below it on a schedule the gauge sees and this page does not.
Getting to it
- Dowagiac River Dodd Park 6.5 mi · walk in
Public access sites near the dam, straight-line distance. A dam itself is private property unless its owner says otherwise; these are the places the state lists as open.
Fly shops nearby
- Rusty Hooks Bait & Tackle LLC 1.1 mi · Niles · +1-269-683-3474
- Tackle Shack 30.1 mi