Aging dam crisis in Michigan

Dam removal in Michigan needs to be streamlined and fast tracked by a think tank of professionals which most definitely include paddling aficionados, paddlesports retailers, and the ACA - American Canoe Association. Michigan has an enormous amount of creeks, streams, rivers, ponds, channels and lakes; all of which need attention.


Aging Dam Crisis in Michigan

ShiawasseeWatershed Detailed Map

ShiawasseeWatershed_11x17.pdf (application/pdf Object)

This a great map showing where the dams exist
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Saginaw Bay Watershed blocked by dams

Fish Passage

The Saginaw Bay watershed is fragmented by nearly 300 dams or spillways . Improving fish passage at existing dams, either by ladders or by dam removal is the single surest means with which to increase natural reproduction. River spawning walleyes are already abundant in the bay, and are the only proven source of natural recruitment.  Establishment of fish passage and/or removal of unnecessary dams, while no small undertaking, can pay great dividends in terms of enhancing walleye recruitment. Enhancement of fish passage will also benefit lake sturgeon, white bass, and a variety of other warm water species. 

Figure 1. Saginaw Bay watershed. Dots indicate the location of a dam or spillway obstacle.

Dam removal is the preferred option for maximizing the benefits of natural reproduction. Dam removal eliminates the problem of safe and effective downstream transport of walleye fry which may otherwise be retained above dams or killed in hydroelectric turbines. Removal of dams also facilitates recovery of high gradient river reaches which are often necessary for successful natural reproduction.

Saginaw Bay's fishery is already valued at well over $18,000,000 in the 1990's 
and accounts for 58% of the total sport fishing effort on the Michigan waters of Lake Huron.

Excerpt taken from :
Strategy and Options for Completing the Recovery of Walleye in Saginaw Bay

David G. Fielder

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Fisheries Division

Lake Huron Basin Team

August 2002

Michigan's bizzare DAM ownership fiasco

Michigan has numerous DAMS in ownership limbo from judicial juggling of responsibility.
Let's cut the bullshit.
The government is US, the citizens of the Michigan. Waterways belong to everyone, downstream/upstream, all.
Attempting to burden some little itty bitty community of a 1,000 people with $$$$ millions in removal or repair costs is just a complete waste of everyones resources.

The State of Michigan should own all the dams, repair and maintain them along with demolition of  aging deteriorating dams that pose safety hazards.
Dams were used by our ancestors in an era long gone. It is time to evolve into the 21st century.


Corunna, Michigan is playing a game of who,what,where,when concerning ownership of a dam on the Shiawassee River.
Guess what - it belong to all of us in Michigan already.
Your tax dollars are paying the "experts" from the DNR and the Army Corps of Engineers to consult anyways.
Little local governments don't have super duper technical hydro engineers, physicists, structural engineers, etc.

Putting a dam in the hands of the Michigan Land Bank Authority is even more foolish.
It's not something anyone can sell, let along give away to a charity, or make any profit on.
They are bankers, CPA's and office personnel - it's not like they put on a drysuit and inspect the dams......

Water flows, it moves, it seeps, creeps, drips, and gurgles it's way along, never really staying in any one place for long.
It is a resource that belongs to all citizens of Michigan - and the government also belongs to us .
Citizens need to get actively involved with the resources they own .

Last time I checked, no one is getting their grain milled from any mill pond. It is 2011 - move forward !
http://t.co/KBVRFHP

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Chesaning Dam Project

A $1.3 million improvement project on the Shiawassee River ?

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2009/08/rocking_the_river_13_million_p.html#comments

Several grants, including $900,000 from the state, have paid for the cost of this river improvement project

Sandy Verry of Grand Rapids, Minn.-based Ellen River Partners -- which designed the river terrain -- worked with excavator operator Aaron VandenBos of Pete's Contracting Inc. of Falmouth to place boulders and rocks.  "We're building a rock ramp in the water, and then we're building weirs across it to turn it into a rapids that fish can get up and canoeists can get down by traveling through the center of it," said Pete's Contracting owner Pete VandenBos.

http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecipientReportedData/pages/RecipientProjectSummary508.aspx?AwardIdSur=49136&AwardType=Grants

CHESANING, VILLAGE OF

Replace a failed dam with a rock ramp / riffle structure to provide
fish passage to 37 miles of previously inaccessible river habitat.

Clarification of Codes

AWARD OVERVIEW

AWARD OVERVIEW
Award Number	30181RJ171	Funding Agency	Department of the Interior
Total Award Amount	$99,400	Project Location - City	Chesaning
Award Date	08/07/2009	Project Location - State	MI
Project Status	Completed	Project Location - Zip	486161098
Jobs Reported	12.00	Congressional District	04
Place of Performance Country	USA

Recipient Information (Grants)

Recipient Information (Grants)
Recipient Name	CHESANING, VILLAGE OF
Recipient DUNS Number	069823938
Recipient Address	1100 W BROAD ST
Recipient City	CHESANING
Recipient State	Michigan
Recipient Zip	486161006
Congressional District	04
Place of Performance Country	US
Required to Report Top 5 Highly Compensated Officials	No

Projects and Jobs Information

Projects and Jobs Information
Project Title	Shiawassee River Restoration and Dam Removal Project
Project Status	Completed
Final Project Report Submitted	Yes
Project Activities Description	None of the Above
Jobs Created	12.00
Description of Jobs Created	1 Foreman 6 Operators 5 Laborers

Purchaser Information (Grants)

Purchaser Information
Contracting Office ID	Not Reported
Contracting Office Name	Not Available
Contracting Office Region	Not Available
TAS Major Program	14-1610

Award Information

Award Information
Award Date	08/07/2009
Award Number	30181RJ171
Order Number
Award Type	Grants
Funding Agency ID	14
Funding Agency Name	Department of the Interior
Funding Office Name	Not Available
Awarding Agency ID	14
Awarding Agency Name	Department of the Interior
Amount of Award	$99,400
Funds Invoiced/Received	$99,400
Expenditure Amount	$99,400
Infrastructure Expenditure Amount	Not Available
Infrastructure Purpose and Rationale	Not Available
Infrastructure Point of Contact Name	Marlene Schultz
Infrastructure Point of Contact Email	villageadmin@villageofchesaning.org
Infrastructure Point of Contact Phone	989.845.3800
Infrastructure Point of Contact Address	1100 West Broad Street
Infrastructure Point of Contact City	Chesaning
Infrastructure Point of Contact State	MI
Infrastructure Point of Contact Zip	486161098

Product or Service Information (Grants)

Product or Service Information
Primary Activity Code	**Z
Activity Description	None of the Above

Sub-Awards Information

Sub-Awards Information
Sub-awards to Organizations	0
Sub-award Amounts to Organizations	$0
Sub-Awards to Individuals	0
Sub-Award Amounts to Individuals	$0
Number of Sub-awards less than $25,000/award	0
Amount of Sub-awards less than $25,000/award	$0
Number of payments to vendors greater than $25,000	0
Total Amount of payments to vendors greater than $25,000/award	$0
Number of payments to vendors less than $25,000/award	0
Total Amount of payments to vendors less than $25,000/award	$0

Project Location Detail

Location Information
Latitude, Longitude	43º 11' 10", -84º 7' 37"
Congressional District	04
Address 1
Address 2
City	Chesaning
County	Saginaw
State	MI
Zip	486161098

Chesaning Dam

News
$900K grant paves way for Chesaning dam removal

By MICHAEL PETERSON,
Argus-Press Staff Writer


CHESANING - The Chesaning dam is on its way out after a $900,000 grant through the Clean Michigan Initiative will help push funding for the Shiawassee River Restoration and removal of the dam.

State Senator Roger Kahn, R-District 32, has been very involved in the project and was instrumental in the push for the grant, said Bob Grnak, Kahn's media coordinator.“We think its the most wonderful thing ever,” Village Manager Marlene Schultz said. “It's not like a loan we have to pay back. We really feel fortunate and if it wasn't for Sen. Kahn we wouldn't have had this.

Total cost of the restoration - including planning, engineering and construction - is about $1.7 million. In addition to the grant, funding also will come from private citizens, businesses, the township and village.The dam has declined to the point where maintenance and repair is not a practical option.Tom Meder, coordinator for the Shiawassee River Restoration Committee, said they have been working on this project for seven years.

“The dam was deteriorating and something had to be done,” Meder said. “It has been repaired over the course of the last 30 years, but it is beyond repair now. We are going to remove it.”Engineers have developed a solution that restores fish passage, creates new river habitat, interconnects fragmented aquatic habitat and preserves the impoundment needed for the Showboat Festival, while eliminating the long-term liabilities associated with a failing dam.
Meder also believes the restoration will help to boost tourism.

“It will become a really prolific fishery now and people will be coming to use it,” Meder said. “Our campgrounds will literally be more useable because we will have fish right up near the campgrounds.”Meder explained the Shiawassee River goes right through the Chesaning campgrounds and with the dam fish cannot swim near the camping areas.

The dam was built in 1863 to create power for the grist mill and was a key element to Chesaning's success as a lumber hub in the mid-1800s.However, the dam is most notably used today for the annual Chesaning Showboat Festival, which is a major aspect of the cultural identity in the village.Meder is hopeful the project starts in the fall.

Update - Shiawassee River Conditions

A review by Doug Lanyk from HeadWatersTrails August 14th, 2008

My how things change.
Jimmy and I Took a trip yesterday evening from
Holly's Waterworks Park to Bush Park in Fenton.
My expectations were slightly low water and an easy paddle.
So much for my powers of precognition.
The water level at waterworks park was about 3 inches higher
than I would have thought. The recent rainfall that missed
my house must have hit somewhere else in the headwaters region.

It was a good start to the journey. The river was quiet
and the wildlife was repeatedly surprised by us quietly
gliding down the river. Numerous deer, fish, turtles,
and heron were motivated to seek further cover upon
being observed at close quarters.
There is a tree partially blocking the river just after
the 3 tubes. You can still paddle around on the the shallow side.
It's small and will be easily removed, but beware if you try it,
it's covered in poison ivy. The quiet paddle was just about
perfect until another downed tree just before Fish Lake Rd.
Last week Jimmy had to portage the tree. Last night we had enough
water to bump over it. Once again it was smooth sailing.

The next item of note was the water level in Haddon pond.
It was noticeably lower. The beaver created marsh following the
pond had lot's of fresh bank showing and a bit of challenging
paddling to go around trees we are accustomed to going over.
The reason for the low water level was soon apparent.
The big beaver dam is gone! I don't know if it had help
but the center of the old dam is now completely washed out.
No drop whatsoever. This has aesthetic ramifications.
The old dump that comes up to the river at that point
is now showing a whole lot of garbage.

Some new work near Scarbury's Ford was noticed too.
The ford itself had low water and we had to bump our way across.
The last beaver dam before the Fenton Millpond has been beefed up.
It's now bigger and badder than ever before.
It's about a one foot drop that we skated over.
The millpond itself was a pungent mess. It is severely grown over.
It was a bit of work to get the boats across.
After dumping our first load of picked up garbage off at
Strom park we were rewarded for our work by finding a
blue grass band playing at the bandstand in Downtown Dibbleville.

As we portaged the dam, lot's of curious people questioned us
about paddling on the river. It was a good opportunity for
educating more people about our efforts. Below the dam
we launched Jimmy in his canoe just before I did a seal launch
off of the rocks. It was fun when the the crowd listening to the
band brokeout in applause and cheers in the middle of a song.

From the Dam to Bush Park was a bigger challenge than the millpond.
The water had disapeared. It was very shallow for most of the rest
of the trip. Where we did the cleanup a couple of weeks ago it was
hard to tell we had been there.
The trees that were totally submerged when we cut those above are
now completely above the water. More garbage has been exposed too.
By this time it was getting dark and we were glad that my truck was
right there. A longer trip would have been less than fun.

Get outside.
Doug.