Ann Arbor City Council to consider Argo dam-in resolution tonight
The great debate on whether to repair Argo Dam or demolish it and restore a portion of the Huron River to its natural state continues tonight.
The Ann Arbor City Council is expected to consider a "dam-in" resolution to preserve the structure that makes Argo Pond possible.
Three council members - Marcia Higgins, D-4th Ward, Stephen Rapundalo, D-2nd Ward, and Sandi Smith, D-1st Ward - are sponsoring the resolution. It resolves to maintain the dam and directs the city administrator to work to mitigate any infrastructure deficiencies with the headrace embankment to satisfy the state's concerns.
It also directs city staff to identify a timetable and necessary funding sources to support the work.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently told the city that it had safety concerns with the condition of the dam's earthen embankment and toe drains, which are designed to drain seepage from the headrace.
The three council members state in their resolution that "repairs to the headrace could be completed for a small fraction of the cost of removing the entire dam" and "the best interests of the Ann Arbor community will be served by preserving the Argo Dam and all the amenities associated with the dam."
Dam-out proponents plan to show up at tonight's meeting set for 7 p.m. at city hall to protest the decision.
The city has been keeping up an Argo Dam page on its Web site detailing progress of its talks with the DEQ.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
Comments
Arboriginal
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 10:55 p.m.
The one thing A2.COM has down is removing comments!
Wystan
Wed, Oct 21, 2009 : 8:45 a.m.
Whoa! Where did all the other comments go?
Tee
Mon, Oct 19, 2009 : 6:41 p.m.
This issue has been debated far too long, repair the drains, which is the least expensive option, and challenge the experts to find plausible solutions to improve the quality of the river without sacrificing the loss of Argo Pond.
zags
Mon, Oct 19, 2009 : 6 p.m.
No doubt the vocal minority will win the day once again. Politics as usual in Ann Arbor. Do we have any extra garbage trucks to send to Central America while we're at it?
Russ Miller
Mon, Oct 19, 2009 : 4:09 p.m.
The natural course of the Huron River below Argo Dam is to flow through the highly contaminated MichCon property. If (structurally sound) Argo Dam is removed at great expense, a series of dam-like structures will have be constructed at great expense to keep the river from it's original, but now toxic course.
Arboriginal
Mon, Oct 19, 2009 : 3:40 p.m.
Let's get rid of all of the dams and get our water from Detroit. Soon Charles Gelman's gift to the city (toxic plume)will reach Barton pond and then what?
81wolverine
Mon, Oct 19, 2009 : 3:20 p.m.
The dam should have been repaired years ago after the MDEQ first raised the warning flags in 2001. In fact, the city budgeted money for the repairs years ago, but for some unknown reasons, has dragged its feet on getting the work done. (Similar circumstances to the now deteriorated, falling apart Stadium Blvd. bridges). However, in this case, there's still time to act and the dam itself is in good condition. The dam should stay. Removing only 1 of the 4 dams within the city limits makes no sense to me. Any improvements to the relatively short section of the river between Barton and Geddes Dams will be minimal and not worth the cost to the community.