The dam is about 17 miles (27 km) 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 $4.61 million in 2023[2]) for the construction of the dam by a vote of 779 to 47.

[citation needed] 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.

[citation needed] The general contractor for the spillway and powerhouse was Carpenter & Anderson of Allis-Chalmers.

The entire engineering work including preliminary surveys, and estimates was under the supervision of Gardner S. Williams of M. Am.

There are 33 gates that hold back the St. Joseph River and creating the Sturgis Reservoir.

[5] The emergency drawdown of the reservoir in the middle of a heat wave caused concern from local farms that irrigation intakes were now left above the water line of the river.