Delta College Public Media to premiere second part of dam failure documentary

Delta College / News / Delta College Public Media to premiere second part of dam failure documentary

October 12, 2021

A follow-up documentary by Delta College Public Media about the aftermath of two local dam failures will explore how the communities and its residents are recovering and moving forward.

“Breached! The Tittabawassee River Disaster, Pt. 2 – The Recovery” will premiere on Delta College Public Media October 19 at 8pm, with rebroadcasts on October 22 at 5pm and October 24 at 1pm and 7pm.

Producers Ron Beacom and Robert Przybylski began work on the project in May 2020, days after the dams on Wixom and Sanford lakes were breached and flood waters reached record levels, damaging thousands of homes and businesses. The first part of the documentary, “Breached! The Tittabawassee River Disaster,” premiered in October 2020.

Przybylski said the second documentary will focus on how the people affected are putting their lives back together.

“Ron and I knew even before we completed the first documentary that the story of this disaster was far from over,” Przybylski said. “The people who were affected by this disaster are the same people who watch and support Delta College Public Media, and we just knew we had to continue to tell their stories.”

Beacom said, “The recovery process – both physical and emotional – will be a long haul, but the community’s determination to move forward have been amazing and we want to highlight those efforts.”

The documentary is narrated by Jeff Johnson, of Tawas, with original music by Pat Cronley, of Flint. Immediately following the premiere, a special one-hour “The Follow Up” program with host Mike Redford will air and focus on the disaster and ongoing recovery.

Both documentaries will be available online at DeltaPublicMedia.org. For more information contact Przybylski at 989-686-9569 or robertprzybylski@delta.edu.

About the producers

Beacom has lived in Midland for more than 30 years and grew up in Coleman, just west of Sanford. He retired from the City of Midland in 2016 after leading Midland Community Television for 27 years.

Robert Przybylski is a staff producer/director for Delta College Public Media and this is his 12th local documentary. Przybylski won an EMMY Award in 2019 for his documentary “VIETNAM VOICES: Mid-Michigan Remembers the Vietnam War.”

Delta College Public Media has been producing historically focused local documentaries since 2005.