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Topic: Hamilton Dam finally to be removed
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

While Flint owns the Hamilton Dam, an end run decision has the county and others doing the most recent effort to rebuild the dam.

Communication from Robert Misekow, the Director of Utilities for the City of Flint in 2007 to the Journal :

In the Journal, 12 October 2007 Talk Back Column, an uninformed contributor complained about "Dam Politics" citing the City's disinterest in either repairing or replacing the City owned Hamilton Dam.

Until just recently the City did not even have the funds to support an Engineering Study of the dam's condition, let alone to repair/replace it. Yes the city is in the black again; however earlier estimates place the cost of replacement at $5 million plus. At today's cost, it would be even more, perhaps double that amount. It would require all of the City's money, then some, to bring the dam back to integrity.
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:07 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Misekow continued:

Flint is not the only city vying for federal funds. Our federal representatives have been trying for years, only to have their requests vetoed along the way. This may be the first year that Congress might muster enough votes to override the President's veto of the Funding Bill for Dam Improvement/ Replacements that are required across the nation. Flint has a high priority in this respect because of being placed in the top six of those dams requiring immediate attention.

For your information, the City's Utilities Department initiated a Request for Proposal early this year-with the Mayor's blessing-for an Engineering Study to determine whether repairs or replacement of the dam was indicated. Twelve consulting engineering firms attended a pre-bid dam meeting during which all documentation the City had on file was made available. Three firms eventually submitted bids for the study. The firms faced a daunting task, i.e., the many unknown factors. If it was found the foundation along with underwater concrete was sound, it was estimated as much as a million dollars might be saved. However, the cost to determine this would be substantial so a little hedging was brought into play by the bidders. The volume of sediment that would have to be removed, analyzed and land filled, was another unknown. The desires of the stakeholders, fishermen, canoeists, aestheticians, etc., were also incorporated into the Request for proposal. Lastly, was the funding that paid for all of the above-NO MONEY, NO DAM.


Last edited by untanglingwebs on Thu Feb 16, 2017 3:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:28 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Misekow continued:

So, is the City disinterested? NO! To the contrary, the Department of utilities has labored to effectuate this dam happening. What's more, we have attended most, if not all, the Hamilton Dam Committee Meetings, sometimes with two representatives, especially when the subject of financing was broached.

For the record, the writer is not a johnny-come-lately, having worked and retired fro the City's earlier titled Department of public Works in bot Water and Water Pollution Control Divisions. .......
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:37 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

April 19, 2007 News Dale Kildee 5th District of Michigan

Kildee's Vial Water Infrastructure Priorities Pass House

WASHINGTON D.C. The House of Representatives today passed two provisions authored by Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) that would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to repair, replace or rehabilitate the Hamilton dam in Flint and repair drainage of the Cass River in Tuscola County.

Without these Kildee provisions, which are part of the Water Resources Development Act, the Army Corps of Engineers would not be able to do these jobs.

These provisions would pave the way for federal funds to be provided for these Kildee initiatives. Congressman Kildee has already submitted formal requests to the House of Appropriations Committee to fund these projects.

"The future of the Hamilton Dam and Cass River is a top priority. That is why I am working to authorize projects to protect these landmarks", Congressman Kildee said. "These projects would help prevent flooding and erosion so we can preserve our environment and strengthen the local economy.
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:34 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Kildee continued:

Specifically, the Congressman's first provision allows the Army Corps of Engineers to repair, rehabilitate or replace the Hamilton dam at the University of Michigan-Flint campus. A study conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2000 recommended that the dam be replaced.

Congressman Kildee has declared this project as one of his top priorities since the potential for a collapse could cause the loss of life and property. The possibility of his catastrophe has also impacted economic development in the region.

Congressman Kildee's other provision calls for the second phase of a project to repair damage in Cass River in Tuscola County to curb flooding and erosion. This project, known as the Moore Drain Full Petition Project (MDFPP), would also revegetate the area and implement erosion contol structures. When the MDFPP is completed, erosion inputs into the Cass River will be reduced by two to five tons per acre per year.

Past land use practices have accelerated erosion in the Cass River, which has caused a loss of drainage capacity and impeded agriculture and recreational use of undeveloped land in the Cass River watershed.
#####
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:51 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

On June 8, 2007 David Lossing, Director of Government Relations for U of M-Flint sent a fax to Bob Misekow related to the Hamilton dam.

a) Copy of HR 1495- Water resources Development Act of 2007 as introduced in the House SEC. 5003 DAM SAFETY
(a) The Secretary may provide assistance to ensure dam safety at the following locations:

Hamilton Dam was #2 on the list of 8 sites.

b) Authorization of appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) $6,000,000.

HR 1495 (Engrossed Amendment as Agreed to by Senate)

a) Authorization-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may carry out a small dam removal or rehabilitation project if the secretary determines that the project will improve the quality of the environment or is in the public interest.
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:14 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

(2) PRIORITY PROJECTS- In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall give priority to carrying out the following small dam removal or rehabilitation projects:

a. Mountain Park, Georgia
b. Keith Creek, Rockford, Illinois
c. Mount Zion Mill Pond dam, Fulton County, Indiana
d. Hamilton Dam, Flint River, Michigan
e. Ingham Spring Dam, Solebury Township, Pennsylvania
f. Stillwater Lake Dam, Monroe County, Pennsylvania

(b) Cost sharing- A non Federal interest shall provide 35 percent of the cost of the removal or remediation of any project carried out under this section, including provision of all land, easements, rights of way, and neessary locations.
Post Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:25 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

William J. Leady, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, District Engineer to Honorable Carl Levin, United States Senate dated May 16, 2007

I am writing in response to a letter from the Honorable Dale E. Kildee and you dated April 23, 2007 regarding Hamilton Dam in Flint Michigan.

The Corps of Engineers recognize the significant threat of failure that exists at Hamilton dam and appreciates that the City of Flint is attempting to expedite the remediation of this problem. However, the Corps has no authority to reimburse the City of Flint for past or current Request for proposal-related expenditures, nor can we credit or reimburse future activities on Hamilton Dam without specific authorization and appropriation to be provided to the Corps to assist with Hamilton dam, such expenditures may then be credited toward the city's cost-share of a remediation project.
Post Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:58 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Flint River area expected to see 'dramatic change'...
www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/02/flint_river_area_...

Feb 19, 2015 ... Flint Mayor Dayne Walling anticipates properties to the west and ... and private funding for the Hamilton Dam, for which the first phase would cost an ... with the majority of the money going toward the upcoming construction.





Flint River Corridor Alliance
HOMEABOUT USFRRPCHEVY COMMONSNEWSEVENTS


Flint River area expected to see ‘dramatic change’ with redevelopment over next decade


mliveFLINT, MI — The recent purchase of property near the Flint River is just the latest in an ongoing series of potential redevelopment opportunities along the city’s riverfront.

And among Kettering University’s master plan, the planned transformation at Chevy in the Hole and other plans, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said major changes are expected in the area over the next decade or so. “The University Avenue and Flint River Corridor is going to see more dramatic change in the next couple years than anywhere else in the city,” Walling said. Rebecca Fedewa, executive director of the Flint River Watershed Coalition, said the work that’s being done now is the results of a decade of work by members of the Flint River Corridor Alliance and city officials.

“We see the river as a tremendous asset to our city,” she said. “Our backs have essentially been turned to the river for a while now.” The city’s vision for the riverfront, Walling said, includes mixed use facilities and properties for new businesses, housing and green spaces, as well as beautification and restoration. “The river is becoming a real draw because of what the corridor can offer as far as quality of life for residents and also an interesting environment for new small businesses,” he said. “There is also a large number of underutilized buildings and properties along the river left over from the former factories, parking lots, bars and businesses that depended on factory workers years ago.”

Already the intersection of Grand Traverse and Kearsley Streets, just south of the Flint River, has seen Tenacity Brewing recently open its doors. Three other nearby properties were recently purchased by River City Developments, a company owned by Ridgway White, president of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

White said development along the Flint River is crucial for the city’s future. In addition to the properties he purchased in the last year, White had also purchased one property 10 years ago. In 2006, he bought 501 W. Kearsley St., which sat empty at the time. Soon after, Rogers Foam was brought into the property, bringing 50 jobs. “I’ve had a long-term interest in the Flint River,” White said. “I’ve always felt it’s a long-term, positive benefit.”

Hamilton Dam

Walling said city officials are looking at options for federal, state and private funding for the Hamilton Dam, for which the first phase would cost an estimated $3 million. “This is an urgent priority in the adopted capital improvement plan and the city has pledged the first million to the project based on the emergency need,” he said. The first phase would “maintain the water impoundment upstream of the dam with a naturalized design that would then have a series of smaller cascades going downstream.”

Naturalizing the river

In order to fully naturalize the river to allow boats and fish to travel upstream and downstream, Walling said it would cost more than $50 million. “Naturalizing would require a major federal investment,” he said. “It’s not feasible in the current fiscal and partisan atmosphere in Washington.” However, in the future, Walling did say the city may look at naturalizing specific items rather than do the whole project at once. “We could look at naturalizing elements of the river at a lower cost in the future,” he said.

Riverbank Park

The first phase of a multi-year, three phase project is beginning this spring and summer at Riverbank Park. Flint Downtown Development Authority Director Gerard Burnash said the first phase is budgeted at $300,000, with money coming from the Michigan DNR Trust Fund grant. The first phase will include several changes, including softening some of the hard concrete areas and filling in the channel on the north side of the park. “The DEQ mandated it has to be at this level because of the state of the Hamilton Dam,” Burnash said.

The second phase would include infrastructure improvements, including electrical and lighting, but funding is still being figured out to develop the timeframe on that, Burnash said. Meanwhile, the third phase would just include wrapping up the project, he said. The timeline for completion isn’t set. “It’s kind of a dynamic work in progress,” he said.

Kettering University

In Kettering’s 10-year master plan, released on Feb. 12, the university shows a vision to connect to the Flint community and downtown. This means green spaces, including connections to Chevy Commons and Flint River trails. There are also plans to connect campus buildings, including an enclosed bridge over Chevrolet Avenue, that pay homage to the bridge that used to exist at the Chevrolet Complex.

Chevy in the Hole

Meanwhile, the longtime major eyesore and former General Motors industrial site will become Chevy Commons, a natural park along the Flint River which is expected to include wetlands, woodlands, grasslands and other green areas. The Genesee County Land Bank and city of Flint, which owns the site, came together to put a plan together for the site, which served as the backdrop for the Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37 and now holds a prominent place on the riverfront between downtown Flint and Kettering University.

A $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency paid for a draft plan, with the majority of the money going toward the upcoming construction. Before that, thousands of trees had been planted on the site to help naturally remove contaminants from the area.

Business developments

“The demographic changes and housing market dynamics are driving more people into the core of the city and there’s going to be an expansion of development around downtown into the adjacent area,” Walling said. “The Flint River corridor is the first place where the environment is right for that to happen.” With River City purchasing several properties along Grand Traverse and Kearsley streets and Kettering expanding its push for downtown, White said the city’s master plan will match perfectly to help downtown.

“It’s a natural expansion area that could occur over time,” he said.
Post Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:06 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

V. COMMUNICATIONS
A. Flint Riverfront Restoration Development Presentation – Amy McMillan, Director,
Genesee County Parks
Amy McMillan explained that in 2014 the Genesee County Parks entered into a two-yearpartnership agreement with the City of Flint to maintain four parks within in the City: Max Branden Park, Flint Park Lake, McKinley Park and Fred Lake Park. This year, the partnership was extended for another five years and the responsibility for maintaining the Flint River Trail was also added to the agreement. The Flint Riverfront Restoration Project will remove the Hamilton Dam, which is currently rated the most dangerous dam in Michigan and will also connect the river to the community and use it as an asset. Once complete, the river will have more natural walls down the water, a beach area, several barrier-free launch areas, and five to six drops and pools that will create a novice level paddling experience. Additionally, a pedestrian bridge will connect both sides of the river and Riverbank Park will be reimagined with green space and access to the river. The overallproject budget is approximately $36 million, with a goal of being completed in three years.


The August 9, 2016 minutes of the Genesee County Metropolitan Planning Commission.
Post Fri Sep 23, 2016 5:30 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

No pending Oroville, but Michigan's aging, crumbling dams pose a risk
Keith Matheny , Detroit Free Press 10:39 p.m. ET Feb. 14, 2017

While Michigan faces no potential dam collapse disasters like the worsening situation in Oroville, Calif., the Great Lakes State has thousands of dams that are aging, under-maintained and pose localized risks.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality oversees 88 potential high-hazard dams in the state, and all but six of them are approaching or past 50 years old, the average engineered life span for a dam. Overall, more than 90% of Michigan’s nearly 2,600 dams will reach or exceed their design life by 2020, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) stated in a 2009 report giving Michigan a D grade on the condition of its dams.

The group has a new infrastructure report card in the works for this spring, and the grade for the state's dams "won't be getting any better," said Jeff Krusinga, a co-author of the upcoming, updated report card and a geotechnical engineer and senior consultant at SME in Kalamazoo.

"There have been some improvements, in that some dams have been removed and addressed," he said. "But in the last eight years, think about all of the dams that are in poor shape that are eight years older and haven't had much of anything done with them."

While the possible collapse of the Oroville Dam has prompted the evacuation of more than 200,000 people, the scale of the potential disaster there dwarfs what would be possible with dams in Michigan, Krusinga noted.

"You've got to remember, that dam is over 700 feet high," he said. "Most of our dams are less than 25 feet high. There are some over 100 feet, but that's just a handful.

"You've got water at such a high elevation (in Oroville), think of it as stored energy in that reservoir behind the dam. We don't have any impoundments behind our dams that are that high. That's not to say we couldn't have some dams in Michigan fail."

►Related: Crews work to backfill erosion on Oroville spillway
►Related: Raw: Crews make progress in Oroville dam repairs
►Related: 20% of dams in populated areas lack emergency plan

Among the biggest concerns in Michigan is the Hamilton Dam, on the Flint River in the heart of the city's downtown. Surrounded by the University of Michigan-Flint campus, it’s considered a high-hazard dam — meaning if it failed, people likely would die and significant structural damage could occur. The DEQ rates the Hamilton Dam as “unsatisfactory,” state inspectors’ worst rating, a condition calling for “immediate or emergency remedial action.” That needed action hasn’t occurred for years, as the dam continues to crumble. Huge chunks of concrete are missing in portions, the inner rebar exposed. Three of six floodgates no longer work.

The DEQ in recent years ordered the water impoundment behind the Hamilton Dam lowered to alleviate pressure on the crumbling infrastructure and risk to the public. But every spring, rains and snowmelt swell the river, and knuckles whiten for those aware of the Hamilton Dam's condition.

"I just hope we never have to figure out what would happen if that dam goes — I don't want to see what could possibly happen if there was a failure," said Rebecca Fedewa, executive director of the nonprofit Flint River Watershed Coalition.

Grant money from the Hagerman Foundation in the fall of 2015 funded pre-engineering for a proposed project to completely remove the Hamilton Dam and create a series of drops and pools that would provide better fish habitat, human access to the river and recreation opportunities, Fedewa said. The proposal is in the hands of Genesee County Parks, which is seeking grant money to make the plan happen.

Most Michigan dams no longer serve the purpose for which they were built in the late 1800s or early to mid-1900s — power for things such as grist and sawmills and, later, hydropower for small communities whose increasing power needs have since led them to tap into the electric grid.

A 2007 study on the growing crisis of aging dams in Michigan, prepared by Public Sector Consultants and Prein and Newhof for the Michigan Municipal League Foundation, said Michigan has nearly 120 dams in need of an estimated $50 million to address their repair or removal.

But the risk of failing dams in Michigan isn't just theoretical. During the “Great Flood of ’86,” when torrential rain fell across the central Lower Peninsula from Sept. 10-15, 1986, 14 dams failed and another 19 were near failing, according to U.S. Geological Survey.

The flooding killed six, injured 89, left about 30,000 homes flooded and caused about $500 million in damage. A 30-county area of Michigan was declared a federal disaster area. The Silver Lake Dam, 30 miles upstream of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, failed on May 14, 2003, when nearly 5 inches of rain fell within 48 hours. It forced the evacuation of 1,800 people and resulted in more than $100 million in damage, with economic losses downstream of $1 million per day, according to ASCE. The dam was rebuilt in 2008.
In September 2013, a man sits along side of the FlintBuy Photo

In September 2013, a man sits along side of the Flint River at the Hamilton dam in downtown Flint that is one of the worst-rated dams in the state of Michigan. The dam inspected as substandard and in need of immediate repairs to maintain its structural integrity, but money dried up to replace the dam a few years ago. (Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)

More than half of the state’s dams are privately owned, often mom-and-pop-type organizations — maybe a condominium association that had a dam installed for their lake, said the DEQ’s Lane. The cost of dam repairs, often exceeding $100,000, is a “huge hit” for most. The limited grant funds available aren’t typically to repair dams but to remove them and restore the river’s natural flows and fish habitat.

Four state-managed, high-hazard dams are rated in poor or unsatisfactory condition:

■ The Hamilton Dam in Flint.

■ The Otsego and Trowbridge dams on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan County. There, the issue isn't so much the flood potential behind the dams, but the toxic polycholorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a vestige of the former paper mills along the river, now held in the sediments built up behind the crumbling dams, said Byron Lane, the DEQ's dam safety chief. A stopgap, temporary dam was completed last year upstream of the Otsego dam to alleviate pressure upon it, after inspectors found its condition rapidly worsening.

■ The Boardman Dam, owned by Grand Traverse County on the Boardman River. The removal of this dam is to begin this spring.

For those without a trout stream waiting to happen behind their private dam, finding money for removal is very difficult, Krusinga said. The upcoming update to the ASCE's dam report card will recommend finding financial assistance for private dam owners to remove their crumbling infrastructure even if there's not a significant ecological benefit, he said.

A dam can last centuries if it's properly inspected and maintained, Lane said. What's happening now to dams in Michigan and nationwide, as is the case with roads and bridges, stems from neglect.

"Infrastructure needs attention; it needs financial attention," he said.

Contact Keith Matheny: 313-222-5021 or kmatheny@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @keithmatheny.
Post Thu Feb 16, 2017 3:39 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Wade trim prepared a study in 2010 of the Utah Dam and the Hamilton Dam in Flint. While the Hamilton Dam can be renovated, there were operational constraints discussed that mean there will be no complete removal. The report indicated that the structure is needed to regulate the water levels to ensure the minimum flows are maintained to meet requirements of compliance for the treated wastewater from the city treatment plant on Beecher Road beore Linden Road.

Another issue addressed was flooding . The city must meet a 200 yr flood criteria with the dam. One building the study discussed was the State building as being vulnerable. There is a history of floods downstream of the dam. In recent years water overflowed its banks and part of Flushing Road at Mill .
Post Thu Feb 16, 2017 3:53 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Sediment studies from the area around and down stream of the dam showed metals in all samples and SVOC's in about half of the studies.

The three stage study in 2010 placed costs at about $1.9 million. However, in 2007 Walling was quoted as stating the cost was then estimated at over $50 million for a naturalization plan and would take about 10 years to implement. The plan wold create a series of whitewater drops all the way to Chevy in the Hole, along with a gate and a pedestrian bridge on the renovated dam.
Post Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:00 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Sediment studies from the area around and down stream of the dam showed metals in all samples and SVOC's in about half of the studies.

The three stage study in 2010 placed costs at about $1.9 million. However, in 2007 Walling was quoted as stating the cost was then estimated at over $50 million for a naturalization plan and would take about 10 years to implement. The plan wold create a series of whitewater drops all the way to Chevy in the Hole, along with a gate and a pedestrian bridge on the renovated dam.
Post Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:01 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Hamilton Dam - Wade Trim
www.wadetrim.com/hamilton_dam/

The City of Flint has engaged a team of consultants to develop a preliminary design for modifications to the Hamilton Dam and restoration of the downstream ...
Post Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:55 pm 
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