MILL POND DAM TO BE REMOVED NEXT YEAR
Lawsuit filed by residents to save dam dismissed in December
Oakland County and Springfield Township are moving forward with plans to remove a 186-year-old dam to restore the natural flow of the Shiawassee River and habitats for many species of wildlife.
Oakland County Parks and Recreation and the township jointly manage the Mill Pond and dam, located in Davisburg, as majority property owners. The county has applied for a $350,000 Fisheries Habitat Grant Program grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to remove the deteriorating dam, restore the river to a natural channel, and restore 11 acres of adjacent wetlands to provide a habitat and passage for native fish and wildlife.
Davisburg Road runs over top of the dam, which will be replaced with an open-bottom culvert to provide passage for people and wildlife, and to prevent water from overtopping the damn and onto Davisburg Road.
The project, scheduled to begin in 2022, would cost around $1.64 million, according to county documents. The remaining costs not covered by DNR grant would be covered by the county ($271,250), the township ($78,750), and other grants.
Jim Nash, Oakland County water resources commissioner, says the focus has turned toward removing dams all over the state and the country to restore river flows and restore habitats. He said the Mill Pond Dam is not a lakelevel dam and no longer serves any useful purpose as it once did, which was to provide power to a grist mill demolished in 1948.
“The choice is do you fix a dam or do you eliminate it,” he said. “The cost of repairing this dam would have been very, very large. The payback on fixing them is rare...They are impediments and interfere with the natural course or rivers and removing them leaves a more enjoyable environment in my mind.”
According to the county, decades of eutrophication, an excessive buildup of nutrients that can kill plants and wildlife, and infilling in the Mill Pond has caused an explosion of aquatic invasive species, including the starry stone
wort, Eurasian watermilfoil and Mute Swans. County officials also say that the dam is a public safety threat as it does not meet state standards and is at risk for overtopping during 100-year storm events.
Plans to remove the dam are moving along despite criticism from residents who say the dam has “historical value” and is a “sentimental showpiece.” They also argue that removing the dam would negatively impact property values.
In October 2019, a group of residents filed a lawsuit against the township and county in Oakland County Circuit Court seeking to save the dam. The lawsuit was moved to federal court
at the request of the residents, but dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds on Dec. 3, 2020.
The dismissal came after the plaintiffs provided evidence alleging that the county did not own the dam and therefore could not move forward with removing it.
“The court has reviewed the proposed additional evidence and concludes that the addition of such information to the complaint would not resolve the ripeness, standing, or governmental immunity issues that are fatal to Plaintiff’s claims,” said Edmunds in her Dec. 3, ruling to dismiss.
There is an appeal pending before the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
The need to repair the dam was identified in 2015 with the outlet pipe reaching
the end of its service life and having a reduced water flow due to pipe deformation. In October 2018, the county and township hired AECOM to complete a feasibility study to provide a series of alternatives to address the dam’s condition.
In June 2019, following the completion of that study, the parks and recreation commission and township agreed that removing the damn was the best option “due to safety concerns as well as conservation, habitat restoration, and recreational opportunities.” In the fall of that year, the township began to move forward with plans to construct a new park near the pond.
In January, the township shared its preliminary engineering and design plans for the park with residents. The plan was approved by the county and the township.
By removing the dam and restoring the river’s natural flow, the county says that will benefit numerous aquatic native species including rainbow darter, sunfishes, rainbow mussel, and mudpuppy. Restoration of the wetlands would also help the federally threatened eastern Massassauga rattlesnake and Blanding’s turtle, according to the county.
In addition to restoring wildlife habitat, county officials say removing the dam would increase recreational opportunities including creating stream fishing access, possible connectivity for canoe and kayak use, connectivity to future pathways, and stream restoration educational opportunities.
Earlier this week, the Michigan Dam Safety Task Force submitted its final report to Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer, which provides 86 legislative, regulatory, and departmental recommendations for improving dam safety statewide.
The report was compiled as a result of the May 2020 breaking of the Sanford and Edenville dams in mid-Michigan, which caused historic flooding and displaced over 10,000 residents.
In December, the county also released its own report showing the 73, or 79%, of the county’s 92 regulated dams are in fair or better condition with only a small number showing signs of significant structural decline. 32 of those dams are owned, operated, and maintained by the county with the remaining being privately (58) and publiclyowned (48). Another 46 county dams are unregulated, bringing the county’s dam total to 138.