Water

Mayor addresses Argo Dam issue with Ann Arbor rowing community

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(MI) Ann Arbor.com – Mayor John Hieftje called for a truce tonight as he addressed a crowd of nearly five dozen members of Ann Arbor’s rowing community gathered at Pioneer High School. Acknowledging the tensions between competing ideologies over the fate of Argo Dam, Hieftje urged the rowers – who rely on the dam to enjoy Argo Pond – to set aside their differences with environmentalists who are calling for the dam’s removal, namely the Huron River Watershed Council. More

Water

Dam removal ready — on paper

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(MI) Traverse City Record-Eagle – Local officials approved plans to remove three former hydroelectric dams on the river — Brown Bridge Dam owned by Traverse City, and Sabin and Boardman dams owned by Grand Traverse County. The decisions came early this year after a multi-year public study by the Boardman River Dams Committee wrapped at the end of 2008. The committee offered two primary and opposing recommendations that paralleled community opinions: Some wanted the dams removed and touted a free-flowing river with improved fishery and recreational opportunities, while others wanted the structures left intact to preserve water impoundments and perhaps return the dams to use as power generators. More

Nearshore

Dams Are Thwarting Louisiana Marsh Restoration, Study Says

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(NY) The New York Times –
Desperate to halt the erosion of Louisiana’s coast, officials there are talking about breaking Mississippi River levees south of New Orleans to restore the nourishing flow of muddy water into the state’s marshes. But in a new analysis, scientists at Louisiana State University say inland dams trap so much sediment that the river no longer carries enough to halt marsh loss, especially now that global warming is speeding a rise in sea levels. More