DAM REMOVAL ALLOWS BOARDMAN RIVER TO RECLAIM NATURAL

ALIGNMENT

EXPANDED ABSTRACT

Dan DeVaun, P.E.

Craig Seger, P.E.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Removing the Boardman River dam required maintaining structural integrity of the entire
system throughout the demolition process, while emphasizing safety and environmental
soundness, to allow the stream to reclaim its natural alignment.

“Dam Removal Allows Boardman River to Reclaim Natural Alignment” is the topic of a
20-minute oral presentation to be featured as a Technical Session. A PowerPoint
presentation is being prepared for submittal.

INTRODUCTION

The Boardman River flows through Grand Traverse and Kalkaska Counties into Lake
Michigan. The majority of the Boardman is a high-quality cold-water trout stream that
degraded in its lower reaches as a result of construction of hydroelectric dams. The dams
are now being removed. The focus here is removal of the Boardman Dam.

A safe and appropriate design led to the use of siphons and an articulating concrete block
(ACB) spillway to breach the dam. The siphon was used for initial drawdown. The
spillway was used for final drawdown. Concurrent breaching operations employed both
the siphon and spillway systems while the earthen dam and core wall were removed.

PRIMARY BREACHING COMPONENTS

This presentation will focus on the design and construction of primary breaching
components with regard to the Bypass Siphon System and the ACB Auxiliary Spillway.
A key to the project’s success was to allow flow and drawdown while proceeding with
removal of the earthen dam and core wall.

The River and the Dams

The Boardman River flows into West Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan at Traverse
City, Michigan, Grand Traverse County. To the East, much of the upper North and South
Branches of the Boardman River run through Kalkaska County. The majority of the
Boardman River is a high-quality cold-water trout stream that degraded in its lower
reaches as a result of habitat conversion resulting from the construction of hydroelectric
dams. The dam-created impoundments and river hydraulics supported a warm-water

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fishery. The Boardman River dams also created a barrier between the river and West
Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. The dams have run the course of their useful life
and are now being removed.

The Boardman River Dams Disposition and Ecosystem Restoration is the official name
for the dam removal project. It focuses on the 287 square mile Boardman River
Watershed and three dams that impounded water on this nationally significant resource
noted for its “blue ribbon” trout fishing and “natural rivers” designation.

Figure 1. Location of Dams on the Boardman River.

The initial public engagement process was funded by the City of Traverse City and Grand
Traverse County. Locally funded aspects of the project have been coordinated with the
Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The project focused on engineering, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural
considerations of removing the dams and restoring the cold-water aquatic habitat of the
river.

Safe and Appropriate Design

Removing a dam requires maintaining the structural integrity of the entire system
throughout the demolition process. Considerations for the removal of the Boardman
Dam emphasized redundancy in safety. Risk reduction and overall system integrity were

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fundamental aspects of the design and construction of the Boardman River Dam removal
project.

The following is a summary of the dam breach design. The initial impoundment depth
was 22 feet. The Bypass Siphon System was placed over the earthen dam and was
designed to lower the impoundment water from the 22-foot depth to a depth of 8 feet.
Once the drawdown reached the 8-foot depth, the loss of static head prohibited the siphon
system from maintaining a necessary pool, and passage of flows from the 100-year storm
event. The concrete core wall was removed in incremental steps to allow the remaining 8
feet of impoundment to flow over the wall. The ACB Auxiliary Spillway, situated at the
down-stream side of the core wall, was designed to handle constant head-driven flows
from the 8 foot depth down to empty the impoundment, with additional capacity to allow
flow of the 100-year storm event.

Early design considerations called for a costly pumping plan to remove the lower levels
of impoundment water. The ACB Auxiliary Spillway was designed as an alternate to
pumping. The Spillway geometry was investigated through an iterative process which
allowed for the head-driven solution. The Spillway solution satisfied design
requirements at a much lower cost.

Figure 2. Breaching Components: Bypass Siphon System and ACB Auxiliary Spillway.

Concurrent Breaching Operations

A key to the project’s success was to safely allow flow and drawdown while proceeding
with removal of the earthen berm and concrete core wall. In general, Stage 1
construction included installation of the Bypass Siphon System, drawdown of the
impoundment from a depth of 22 feet down to a depth of 8 feet, and removing the upper
section of the earthen dam. Stage 2 construction included removing the lower section of

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the earthen berm, installation of the ACB Auxiliary Spillway, and incrementally
removing the core wall which allowed drawdown of the impoundment to natural stream
flow elevations.

The spillway handled a sustained flow for three weeks. After the impoundment was
completely dewatered, it was found that the ACB system performed as designed with the
mats tight and solid. The advantages in cost savings for the spillway were fully realized.

Figure 3. Concurrent Breaching Operations.

CONCLUSION

The Boardman River dams were built to generate power, but degraded the stream in a
number of ways. Removing a dam requires a safe and appropriate design. It requires
knowing and analyzing hazards and risks. A siphon design was used for initial
drawdown. An ACB spillway design was used for final drawdown. Concurrent
breaching operations employed both the siphon and the spillway to allow the Boardman
River to reclaim its natural alignment.

REFERENCES

www.theboardman.org website. The Boardman – A River Reborn. Boardman River

Dams. Dam Projects. Dam Locations. Historical Documents.

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