Traverse City News and Events

Boardman Dam Drawdown Begins Next Week; New Documentary Debuts

June 24, 2017

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews will begin drawing down the Boardman Dam impoundment next week – the next phase in the Boardman River restoration project that also coincides with the debut of a new documentary on the project Monday at the State Theatre.

Dewatering will begin mid-week at the Boardman Dam site on Cass Road, according to Alec Higgins, on-site manager for the Army Corps. The drawdown was initially scheduled for a Friday launch, but was pushed back to accommodate the delivery of additional construction materials. “We delayed a couple more days to add more stone material around the (new Cass Road) bridge piers before we let water flow under the bridge,” says Higgins. “That should get delivered this weekend, and the siphons should start up either late Tuesday or early Wednesday.”

Crews previously excavated the Boardman River’s former natural riverbed – which runs under the new bridge – in preparation for the drawdown. Fourteen large pipes have been staged at the site (pictured) and will draw down the impoundment’s water level at a rate of approximately one foot per day. After the water elevation has dropped 14 feet – estimated to take two weeks – an auxillary spillway carved into the dam will be used to lower the impoundment another four feet. At that point, water levels will be low enough that crews can safely begin excavating the dam; once it’s removed, the river will flow naturally through its new channel.

The entire dewatering process could take between two and four weeks, says Higgins. The siphon system is a different method than the temporary dewatering structure that was constructed for the removal of the Brown Bridge dam, which failed and flooded 66 properties along the Boardman River. In a worst-case scenario with the siphon system – such as a total failure or a deluging rain event – engineers say the impoundment would simply fill back up, requiring the drawdown to begin again. A viewing area has been set up on the south side of Cass Road near Keystone Road to allow the public to watch the drawdown.

While river users shouldn’t notice much difference in terms of water flow downstream from the dewatering site, Army Corps project manager Carl Platz says turbidity – or water cloudiness – will likely be visible throughout the Boardman River over the next several weeks.

“We’re going to flow water through areas that haven’t had water flowing through them in a very long time,” says Platz. “As the water flows, it’s going to pick up fines (sediment) and transport them downstream. We know this will be happening; it’s an expected condition. But it will frankly have an impact downstream.”

Platz says water haziness may vary from day to day, but he cautions it could be visible “all the way out to Grand Traverse Bay.” The condition is only temporary and will not damage the watershed, Platz says. “It’s a short-term impact for a long-term gain, which is fully returning the river to its natural beauty.”

Once dewatering is complete and dam removal begins, Cass Road will be closed for approximately three months near the project site. Higgins says the tentative timeline for the road closure is July 28 to October 25, though that schedule could change if crews encounter any delays.

Meanwhile, as the next major phase of the Boardman River Dams Project gets underway, a new documentary on the project will debut Monday at 6pm at the State Theatre. “The Ottaway: A River Reborn” was directed by Emmy-winning science and nature documentary filmmaker Dan Bertalan and funded by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The one-hour film explores “the dynamics of human interaction with the Boardman/Ottaway River historically and culturally and looks at the present day as well as projecting into the future,” Bertalan tells The Ticker. “What is the worth of a river?”

A press summary of the film reads: “Through the hearts of minds of various stakeholders, a story unfolds about the challenges of turning back the hands of time by removing the three upper dams and modifying a fourth to once again connect the river with the waters of Grand Traverse Bay. This film weaves together Native values, the complexity of a changing society, and the unspoken voices of nature’s population of ‘environmental citizens’ whose lives are interwoven with… the rebirth of the Ottaway.” The Boardman has historically been called the Ottawa or Ottaway by area Native American tribes.

Bertalan, who is based in Madison, Wisconsin, will appear in person at Monday’s free screening (tickets are available online or at the State Theatre box office). He will introduce the film and “entertain questions afterward on the making of this film and the making of documentaries in general,” he says. The documentary will also be broadcast statewide on Central Michigan University public television in July. Bertalan says the film will also be offered to broadcast networks throughout Michigan and will be shown as part of the Into the Outdoors science programming broadcast across seven states throughout the Midwest. While Bertalan is uncertain if “The Ottaway: A River Reborn” will eventually be distributed on DVD or digital download, there could be other future opportunities to reach a wider audience.

“I suspect it’s going to be (available) online sometime,” Bertalan says. “And we will probably enter it in film festivals regionally and nationally.”

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