Metroparks recommend replacing Flat Rock Dam with rock arches that maintain reservoir
The rock arches option is expected to enhance fish passage on the Huron River, improving the local ecosystem, while providing easier portage for activities such as fishing, canoeing and kayaking.
The more-than-500-foot Flat Rock Dam was built in the late 1920s by Henry Ford for hydropower generation for his headlamp plant there, a purpose it served until 1950. Ford Motor Co. the following year sold the dam to the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority for $25,000. The southeast Michigan parks operator acquired the dam to maintain the approximately 250-acre water impoundment behind it and adjoining natural areas for recreational use.
But the Flat Rock Dam, and the smaller Huroc Dam just below it, are the first significant barrier to fish traveling upstream from Lake Erie. Though a fish ladder was added at the dams in the late 1990, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources still has found that the dams restrict fish passage and limit reproduction for a number of prized sport fish species, including lake sturgeon, walleye and white bass. A letter from the DNR Fisheries Division to the Metroparks Authority shows DNR officials encouraging the removal of the Flat Rock Dam as far back as November 1984.
A 2020 Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy inspection of the Flat Rock Dam listed its condition as "fair." It's considered a high-hazard potential dam, meaning any failure could cause serious damage to critical infrastructure, significant environmental impact, or potentially result in loss of life.
Many area residents have posted "Save Flat Rock Dam" signs in their yards, and a Facebook group calling for preservation of the dams has more than 2,300 members.
Metroparks has spent the past two years evaluating alternatives. Among the options considered:
Taking no action on the dams but installing a new fishway.
Partially removing the Flat Rock and Huroc dams while maintaining a similar reservoir level. Rock arch rapids, a gradual sloping ramp made of rocks, allowing fish to pass freely, would be added at each former dam site.
Full removal of both dams, which would reduce impoundment water levels by about 10 feet, expose acres of currently submerged lands, and leave the impoundment more like the river segment farther upstream. In this scenario, either active or passive restoration of the river bottom lands exposed would be part of the plan.
Metroparks CEO Amy McMillan will recommend Alternative #2, the rock arch rapids, at the Metroparks board of commissioners meeting on Aug. 14.
"This recommendation enables us to address infrastructure concerns while preserving the natural environment and what so many community members love about the Flat Rock Dam and nearby waterways," McMillan said in a statement. "Additionally, it is a proven means of addressing issues of fish passage that has already been effective around the state and country, and it is more financially attainable than a full dam removal would be. We believe this is the right option for the Metroparks and the region as a whole."
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The rock rapids alternative is estimated to have 50-year life-cycle costs ranging from $26 million to $28 million with assumed inflation − a considerably lower amount than the up to $43 million cost estimated with full dam removals.
After receiving the recommendation at their meeting Thursday, Metroparks commissioners are likely to vote on future dam plans at their Sept. 11 meeting. Both meetings are open to the public, and public comments will be accepted. For information, visit www.metroparks.com.
Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Metroparks to recommend replacing Flat Rock Dam with rock arches
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