Counties Eye Repairs at Elk Rapids Dam

Grand Traverse, Antrim, and Kalkaska counties will soon need to work together to repair the overflow spillway for the Elk Rapids Hydroelectric Dam – aging infrastructure in poor condition that nonetheless plays a key role in controlling levels for multiple waterways including Elk Lake and Lake Skegemog. Grand Traverse County commissioners discussed the dam project Wednesday, which could potentially be funded through an assessment on property owners with lake access.

The three counties are preparing to embark on what will likely be a lengthy process to repair the dam spillway in Elk Rapids. As part of that work, the counties will need to update a 1970s court order that sets levels for Elk Lake and Lake Skegemog, as well as modernize the boundaries of a special assessment district (SAD) used to compel property owners to share in repair costs.

Two dams operate on the Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed, which encompasses 500 square miles across multiple counties through a series of 14 lakes and interconnecting rivers and streams. Those dams include the Bellaire Dam – which divides the watershed into the Upper Chain and Lower Chain – and the Elk Rapids Hydroelectric Dam. Both dams need repairs, but Grand Traverse County’s participation is focused on the Elk Rapids dam since the Lower Chain touches county borders.

While the dam itself is in good condition, the emergency spillway under Dexter Street – which channels excess water from the dam into Kids Creek – has a headwall in poor condition on the downstream end and significant roadway and sidewalk settlement on the upstream end (pictured). The structure needs to be evaluated and then either rehabilitated or replaced, Antrim County Drain Commissioner Leslie Meyers and attorney Stacy Hissong of Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes PLC said in a presentation to commissioners.

The structure has both benefits and drawbacks from a repair standpoint, officials said. It’s a low-hazard dam – meaning a failure poses no probable loss of human life – but is also hydroelectric. That poses challenges both from an infrastructure and grant funding perspective. Meyers said she was able to secure $500,000 for engineering work for the Bellaire Dam but has struggled to find grants for hydroelectric dams.

Without grant funding, there are two ways the spillway repairs – likely to be very costly – can be funded.  One is by the three counties jointly covering them out of their general funds. Antrim County has historically covered maintenance and operational costs for the dam, but those have been modest compared to the price tag for a major repair project. All three counties would need to be involved in approving project costs and financing for such a project.

The other way to fund repairs is through an SAD, which requires property owners – typically those benefiting from the dam maintenance – to participate in the project cost. An SAD is already in place for the Chain of Lakes but hasn’t been levied in over 30 years. That SAD is also problematic in several ways, Hissong said, because it combines the Upper and Lower chains into one district and includes outdated parties like Charlevoix County and parcels without legal lake access.

Updating the boundaries of the SAD is a “long and arduous process” that will require circuit court approval, Hissong said. Because of the time it takes, it would likely be the first step after the three counties approve resolutions to move forward. The goal would be to separate the Upper and Lower chains into two unique SADs. The Lower Chain SAD could include all properties with private legal access – either direct or indirect (deeded/platted) access – on Elk Lake, Lake Skegemog, Torch Lake, Clam Lake, and Lake Bellaire. Approximately 375 such properties have been identified so far within Grand Traverse County, or less than 10 percent of the likely properties in the SAD.

A circuit court judge would determine who’s “in or out” of the SAD; the actual amount assessed per parcel would depend on the total amount of design, engineering, and construction costs and be determined at a separate public hearing. One notable source of potential funding is the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which can also be assessed in this type of SAD for parcels within the district boundaries, Hissong said.

As another part of the process under Part 307 – the Michigan act that governs how inland lake levels are established and maintained – the three counties would also need to update a 1970s order from Antrim County Circuit Court setting summer and winter lake levels for Elk Lake and Lake Skegemog. For one, that order doesn’t reference Torch Lake, Clam Lake, or Lake Bellaire – all Lower Chain lakes whose levels are affected by the Elk Rapids dam and should be included in the order, officials said.

Updating the order – which would occur through a petition to circuit court – would also ensure that the actual physical lake levels accurately match what’s in the order, Hissong said. The existing order sets summer levels at 590.8 feet above sea level and winter levels at 590.2 feet above sea level for Elk Lake and Lake Skegemog. The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that legal lake levels must be strictly maintained – except for some allowed variations due to weather or construction/operation of lake level infrastructure, such as water banking. Explicitly allowing those variations in an updated order will provide additional protection for the counties and help the public understand that some variations can be expected, Hissong said.

Given all the complex legal steps involved – in addition to extensive public engagement – Hissong said that repairing the spillway “is not a process that happens overnight.” However, it’s a process the counties must face, she said, noting that if they don’t voluntarily maintain the dam equipment, they will likely be ordered by the state to maintain it. Commissioners voted Wednesday to have the county’s legal counsel analyze the proposed process along with a draft resolution to move forward and come back at an upcoming meeting with a recommendation on how to proceed.