Dow site recovering from floods

Dow’s headquarters site at Midland, Michigan, was hit by flooding on the morning of 20 May following the collapse of two dams. The company has now stated that “significant progress continues to be made on clean-up and recovery”, including the restoration of utilities, infrastructure, and logistics across the site to normal operations.

Following confirmation that flood waters were commingling with an on-site containment ponds for storm water, and brine system and groundwater remediation, Dow and the US Coast Guard activated emergency plans and shut all operating units on site by mid-day EST on 20 May, except for those needed to manage chemical containment. All railcars were also secured.

By 16.45, the company confirmed that the material from the pond had not created any threat to residents or environmental damage. The flood peaked that evening. Next day, Dow began implementing site recovery plans. As of 22 May, the pond was being pumped to the Michigan Operations Waste Water Treatment Plant to reduce water levels back to normal. Only essential staff were on site throughout.

Dow added that the Dow Performance Silicones production assets were away from the part affected by floods, though they do depend on infrastructure for operations provided by the Industrial Park. Currently, no long-term disruption to supply is expected and business continuity plans are in place to ensure customer needs are met.

During the flooding, Dow and the Dow Company Foundation announced $1 million of financial support for immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts associated with the flooding and its aftermath. Of this, $250,000 went to funds assisting affected employees and the same to a local fund supporting others affected in Midland County. The rest is being kept for allocation as needs arise later. DuPont, which also has a presence there since the merger with Dow, donated $100,000.