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A stop log was put in the Argo Dam today.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
The Ann Arbor city attorney's office announced this morning it has reached a partial compromise with the state Department of Environmental Quality over the Argo Dam.
The city has been in administrative hearings before a judge in Lansing to contest a DEQ order that addresses safety concerns with the dam. City officials said the DEQ agreed Friday to a 90-day stay of its order, with one exception: The city must comply with orders to stop the flow of water from the impoundment into the headrace, a 1,500-foot stretch of water that canoeists and kayakers use to bypass Argo Dam.
MDEQ officials originally told the city it had until Nov. 1 to completely shut off the flow from Argo Dam's impoundment to the headrace.
DEQ officials think the headrace is exerting too much pressure on the earthen embankment that separates it from the Huron River and could cause dangerous flooding if it is breached.
A view from above shows the new stop log placed in the Argo Dam.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
Crews installed a "stop log" this morning to stop the flow to the headrace. The stop log also will block water access for canoes and kayaks between the impoundment and the headrace, city officials said. The headrace water level is expected to drop about 3 feet over the next several days.
City officials said all other actions, including dewatering of the headrace, are at a standstill for 90 days while the city and DEQ continue discussions to address concerns with the dam.
"This really is a problem that we can resolve, and it looks to me like the city has reached a workable compromise in that all we're doing is lowering the water 3 feet rather than completely dewatering the headrace," said City Council Member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward. "Obviously the state doesn't feel we have as serious an issue as they initially thought we did."
Council Member Mike Anglin, D-5th Ward, said he's pleased with the compromise and thinks it's one small step toward addressing the bigger issues with Argo Dam.
The City Council has held off on taking action to make repairs to the earthen embankment identified by the DEQ. Anglin said he thinks the city will go forward with $300,000 in repairs but will hold off on a final "dam-in" or "dam-out" decision for a while.
"It's being done in slow increments here," he said. "I predict what we'll probably do is do the repairs, deal with the embankment and that will be the end of it for a time."
Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.
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