With Video: Mayor addresses Argo Dam issue with Ann Arbor rowing community

Crew teams practice on Argo Pond just above the Argo Dam on the Huron River, north of downtown Ann Arbor. Steve Pepple | AnnArbor.com

While the debate over Argo has heavily divided the community, Hieftje, who supports keeping the dam in place, said he believes both sides have good intentions and share common ground - they both care about the river.

"There's a relationship here that you both need. They're the stewards of the river and you want to use the river," Hieftje said. "We're going to see what we can do to get us all back on the same page ... understanding that the thing that's most important to us is the quality of the river and making sure that as many people as possible can enjoy that river."

"We only have one river," he added. "It's the principal natural resource beyond the air that we breathe. Just a little upstream from where you row, that's where we get our drinking water. By the way, we have award-winning water."

Hieftje highlighted new evidence from a study that supports the city's position that there are no structural problems with Argo Dam, contrary to what the state has argued. He said during the evening the city is looking forward to resolving its dispute with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality over the dam.

Hieftje also said he wouldn't be surprised if the City Council voted unanimously to keep the dam in place.

That struck a chord with the audience, which included several of the coaches of local rowing programs.

Charley Sullivan, one of the rowing coaches at the University of Michigan, said he's been rowing on the Huron River for years, and Argo Dam is a blessing to Ann Arbor.

"We couldn't row without it," he said. "For the University of Michigan team at least, if Argo disappears, we have no water closer than Ford Lake that we can train on and that's not a feasible solution for us while our guys are a club. If we were a varsity program, then there might be some very different options, but as a club where these guys have come to U of M as students first and then decided to join a team that is nationally ranked and takes that level of commitment, we couldn't do it without Argo Pond."

Tom Kraft, head coach of Huron High School's men's varsity rowing team, agreed.

"We couldn't exist without it," he said. "There are other places we can row in Ann Arbor, but Argo is the best spot. We've looked at all of the impoundments, we've measured them, and Argo is by far the superior place to row in Ann Arbor, so it's pretty important that we maintain that dam."

Richard Griffith, men's varsity head rowing coach at Pioneer, said he's glad to hear it sounds like the dam will stay in place.

"It's absolutely critical," he said. "If it were to go away, the other bodies of water would not support us, and it would be detrimental to rowing in Ann Arbor. We have two seasons of 70 rowers, Huron has two seasons of the same and Skyline will also have that number. Michigan has that number. Ann Arbor has over 200 on their roster in the summer, so it's a very popular body of water."

Sullivan said Argo Pond has contributed to the prestige that having top-notch rowing teams brings to Ann Arbor.

"We've had an olympian each of the last two times - guys who have walked onto our team and we've taught how to row in the last olympic games," he said. "We've had a huge number of Michigan athletes who have competed at the national or international level. Thirty years ago, no one would have put Ann Arbor as a rowing center and, in fact, now we are. We are one of the major places in the country turning out rowers. The high schools are doing it, too."

One aspect of rowing that seems to get lost in the debate, Sullivan said, is the personal growth component of the sport.

"It's been a major educational and growth experience for huge numbers of people, both at the university and at the high schools," he said. "I think people sort of think we're out there because it's a nice fun thing that we do, but the thing that I think it does more than anything is really direct young people's lives in a really positive way. It teaches them about teamwork, about effort, about not always winning - it's a huge part of some really important education that happens."

Before the night was over, Hieftje recalled first coming to Ann Arbor in 1951, six months after he was born. He said he had family friends who remember a beach that used to be at Argo Pond, noting he'd like to see that again someday.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.