I’ve been researching the Manchester Michigan Ford Dam status since a family member of a council member authored the dam would be removed without doubt during a rezoning hearing. During that research I fond this article in the Manchester Mirror and I’m not sure how to take it.
About 15 years ago I approached Manchester with evidence that the dam could be effectively updated as a hydro dam without the negative results stated in this article, could reduce the hazard factoring and was told they were not interested. Of course there is also the concern that engineering projects undertaken by Manchester Michigan have not always been up thorough or inclusive of all options. I’d site the premature main street bridge failure or the additional $100,000+ required to replace the bridge due to poor core testing.
What concerns me about articles like this is they begin building fear when fear is unnecessary. Instead of reassuring Manchester residents their dams are safe with headlines like “Manchester’s Dams Rated In Fair Condition By The State”.
Here’s some headlines I’d like to see in the Manchester Mirror. “Manchester Leads Michigan Into The Age Of Electrification” or “Manchester Reduces Electrical Expenses 50%” or “Who’d Have Thought That Dam Thing Was Worth a Dam” but unfortunately that is not the case.
The dam is on the table again and I hope the residents of Manchester Michigan get involved. Manchester received a $70,000 grant which the council went over budget by $11000 to review the dam. The bottom line was the report was tailored to suggest removal. There was no mention of restoring the Dam to productivity and the amount to retain the dam was astronomical so not an impartial review. If the information included in the report were near accurate then most all dams in Michigan will be removed because the legislature of Michigan is increasing the cost to maintain the dams to millions a year.
All residents should see the report and be allowed to decide instead of the council deciding for them, especially since some council members have significant conflicts of interest. There’s considerable untapped potential in the dam and everyone in Manchester would benefit by tapping it instead of one family.
To be fair, I did have the initial reaction to the fear in this article that the community would be turning millions in land value to one family if the dam were removed and the residents get a measly park, but that’s another story.
What's next? 