HRWC director responds to UM row coach re: Argo Dam

Laura Rubin, Executive Director for the Ann Arbor-based Huron River Watershed Council, recently responded to comments posted by Charley Sullivan to a story about Argo Dam at the Michigan Daily website. Sullivan is Assistant Head Coach for the University of Michigan's men's club rowing program. A summary of their exchange follows:

Sullivan's comments:

The rowable length of Barton Pond is shorter than the rowable length of Argo, though there is more surface area, and there are real access issues... And in the end, who cares how big the water is if you can't get to it or build a boathouse on it.

"it's better for the environment" -- so is no-one using an internal combustion engine, but that ain't happening -- but no-one advocating the removal of Argo Dam can quantify or show just how much better it would be in which specific ways. Even though they've been working on this for nearly a decade, they've done no serious scientific study . . . no data on water temperature on Argo, no data on sedimentation of Argo (in spite of Ms. Rubin making a specific claim in her quote,) no data specific to Argo Pond at all in fact.

Rubin's response:

The rowers are the ones specifically who told us that the pond was filling in with sediment and that the rowers were having a hard time rowing...finding a clear path up and down the pond. UM coach Greg Hartsuff stated that he thought there had been about 4 feet of deposition in the ponded area over the ~15 years between ~1990 and 2003. That's what impoundments and dams do. Basically they stop the movement of water and sediment. The sediment drops out and accumulates over time. If you want to keep an impoundment clear of weeds and sediment you need to dredge, apply herbicides or pesticides and actively manage it. It is an engineered system.

We do have data specific for Argo Pond. The data is on harmful flow variations caused by the dam and the poor quality fishery as a result of the dam. This can be found on the Huron River Watershed Council's website at www.hrwc.org.

As for the talk about alternative rowing venues, the city staff and the rowing community need to have a serious discussion about alternatives. Some in the rowing community have suggested alternatives on Gallup and Barton that need exploration rather than a short dismissive statement.

AnnArbor.com poll: 55% say Argo should go

Over 2000 votes were cast in a poll posted by AnnArbor.com on August 28, 2009. The results are as follows:

poll by twiigs.com

The month-long poll officially closed on September 27, 2009.

Ann Arbor mayor doesn't envision "Argo Dam going away"

According to the Ann Arbor Chronicle, Mayor John Hieftje told community members that he didn’t think the dam at Argo Pond would be removed, in part because it might be used for hydropower in the future.

“I don’t really see Argo Dam going away," Hieftje said.

Full story:

How to Sustain a Local Economy
The Ann Arbor Chronicle - Ann Arbor,Michigan,USA
The dam at Gallup has a 50% greater capacity for generating electricity than Argo dam, he said, with about a 35-year payback on investment. ...

HRP's response (included in comments at the A^2 Chronicle story):

Why is dismissing the potential to restore a free-flowing section of the Huron River within the city limits, increasing both park lands and recreational opportunities, good news? In 2000, the World Commission on Dams found that “Large dams generally have a range of extensive impacts on rivers, watersheds and aquatic ecosystems – these impacts are more negative than positive and, in many cases, have led to irreversible loss of species and ecosystems.”

Our own state agencies concur–Argo Dam has the second-highest adverse impact on a river of any dam in Michigan. The DNR abandoned stocking efforts in Argo Pond because species diversity and habitat quality is too low. Dam removal is supported by the local Audubon and Trout Unlimited chapters, as well as the League of Conservation voters.

Like it or not, the most recent study of Argo Dam’s potential to provide hydro power reports a payback that will take 40 years. A more effective means of achieving Ann Arbor’s energy goals is to develop policies aimed at reducing consumption. In most municipalities (and nations, for that matter), energy consumption is too high and wasteful. Likewise, pricing policies often promote wasteful behavior rather than energy conservation.

I urge residents and planners to stop viewing the Argo issue as an energy-source issue. Instead, consider the recreational, ecological, and economic benefits that restoring the river will provide. For more on this topic, visit this website.

2 guest columns from Sunday, 9/13

The first article is from pro-dam writer Jack Noel, Ann Arbor resident since 1974 and retired purchasing agent.

The second article is from dam-removal advocate Owen Jansson, retired assistant director of a research center at the University of Michigan, and former executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council from 1973-77.

1. Is keeping Argo Dam best for Ann Arbor AnnArbor.com - Judging by some of the comments posted in response to AnnArborcom's articleSept 4th on the questions about Argo Dam and Argo Pond it's clear that ...


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It's notable that discrediting comments from pro-dam instigators are always attached to articles and letters advocating for the merits of dam removal. Observation of media for the past 18 months indicate that this is overwhelmingly true, regardless of the author's credentials. One might conclude that the highest concentration of the world's experts on keeping dams reside in Ann Arbor, and most of them, no doubt, are linked to Ann Arbor's now infamous community of adult rowers.

City anticipates delaying Argo Dam issue even further

Questions of cost, endangered species, and accuracy of DEQ mandates are the cause for potentially more delays in the decision to keep/repair or remove Argo Dam.

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AnnArbor.com endorses keeping Argo Dam

AnnArbor.com, formerly the Ann Arbor News, has endorsed keeping Argo Dam. This is the same Ann Arbor media outlet that endorsed George W. Bush for President - twice! The story is here:

Ann Arbor City Council must decide on Argo Dam. We favor dam in ...
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Chesaning joins the list of Michigan towns removing dams

Click here to see Michigan's largest dam removal/rapids installation paid for by $900k of DEQ funds. Congratulations, Chesaning!