More than two years ago Traverse City Light and Power surrendered its licence to generate power from the Boardman River Dams, TCLP said it was too expensive to maintain the aging structures.
But what should happen to Boardman, Sabin, Brown Bridge, and Union Street Dams?
"We're at a critical point right now were now evaluating a whole range of alternatives -theres 81 total options to be considered so we narrowed it down to 7 alternatives," says Michael Donahue, PHD, Dam Study Technical Coordinator.
Seven alternatives that will determine the fate of four Grand Traverse County Dams.
Those seven alternatives are
Retain and repair the four dams.
Remove all the dams.
Modify the dams - which could mean any thing from hydro power production to putting in a fish ladder
Remove the Sabin and Boardman dams and retain Union and Brown Bridge Dams.
Remove Sabin and repair and modify Union, Boardman and Brown Bridge.
Retain and repair Union and remove the other three.
And lastly modify Union Street and remove the three other dams.
"Were developing fact sheets right now that will help the community understand the environmental, economic social and cultural implications of each of those alternatives," says Donahue.
The impact and the cost of each of these proposals is still being researched and details will begin to be released in the fall.
One option could take us back to where it all started.
"Hydro power production certainly one future potential use, at this point all options are on the table," says Donahue.
Next month the Boardman Dams Committee will meet to discuss the possibilities of hydro power production.
Keep in mind - the reason TCLP surrendered its licence was partly due to the expense of running the hydro facility.
There is still time to have your voice heard about what you'd like to see with the future of the Boardman River Dams.
The committee meets the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center.
At the end of the year, that committee will present its recommendation to Grand Traverse County and Traverse City for officials to make a final decision.
