This project will finalize the removal design of peninsular paper DAM (pen DAM) and remove the DAM structure from the huron river

The City of Ypsilanti received a $4,465,000 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service under the National Fish Passage Program (CFDA 15.685) to finalize the removal design and fully remove the Peninsular Paper Dam from the Huron River. The project will restore aquatic organism passage and connectivity by deconstructing this 21-foot concrete gravity dam. Key activities include engineering design, sediment management, habitat protection, and fortifying two bridges impacted by the dam removal. The work is expected to be completed by December 31, 2026. The removal of this high hazard potential dam in poor condition will improve ecosystem resiliency and provide enhanced recreational fishing opportunities.

The DAM is a concrete gravity DAM with a structural height of 21 feet, a hydraulic height of 19.7 feet, and maintains approximately 14 feet of head. The crest length is 290 feet, of which 232 feet is the concrete spillway. The area physically altered by the structure of the DAM and DAM retaining walls extends from about 70 feet upstream to 170 feet downstream of the spillway. The DAM is classified as a high hazard potential DAM in poor condition.a mussel survey will be required. The project team has been consulting with academic, state, and federal mussel experts and we have submitted a proposal to the michigan department of natural resources fish habitat grant program to complete the initial mussel survey. The probability of the presence of threatened or endangered species is high, and a relocation effort will probably be required prior to DAM removal. The DAM structure includes stop logs which can be removed to facilitate dewatering of the impoundment and the extraction of the spillway, and the engineering and design team has identified a preliminary contingency strategy for deconstruction of the DAM.two bridges cross the impoundment upstream from the DAM. The area near both bridges will need to be fortified to prevent scour and erosion. The engineering design team is currently investigating sediment management alternatives. Some active sediment management is extremely probable.