FishPass Flood Heroes
Floodwaters recede on the Boardman-Ottaway, but cleanup awaits
The unprecedented flooding throughout the region, including the Boardman-Ottaway River, forced road closures, caused sinkholes, destroyed bridges, and was, by any stretch, a disaster.
Yet it could have been much worse if not for the efforts of what Leah Bagdon McCallum calls local heroes. “The silver lining was how well and how quick people responded,” says McCallum, pointing to crews from Team Elmer’s, AECOM, and Spence Brothers Construction.
McCallum is a consultant and project lead for the Traverse City FishPass project. It was designed to replace the aging Union Street dam and provide an opportunity for native fish to head upstream while preventing aquatic invaders like lampreys from doing the same.
“The old dam—had it not been removed, things would have been different. Its safety rating was the same as the Midland dam that collapsed,” McCallum says, referring to the Edenville Dam in Midland County, which failed in 2020 following a heavy rainfall, destroying hundreds of homes and properties and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Rising Waters, Rising to the Occasion
Our storm was not without consequences. Not only did the Beitner Bridge collapse, forcing its proposed 2027 replacement to be moved up, but McCallum says the Brown Bridge Overlook was washed out and the Oleson Bridge was shifted.
While the results could have been worse, McCallum says if the FishPass project hadn’t been delayed for years by lawsuits, it would have been completed by now, which would have prevented much of the damage. “It’s bittersweet. It would have been done,” she says.
McCallum says those connected to the project had been paying close attention to the weather. “We’d been watching it,” she says, and had been preparing in advance. Spence Brothers, general contractor for the FishPass project, was monitoring storm water levels due to forecasts for significant rain.
“Team Elmer’s crews installed earthen berm to divert water and other storm water control measures to reduce erosion in advance of the storms. In anticipation of heavy rains, a night watch group was monitoring water levels,” says Justin Kelenske, excavation division manager for Team Elmer’s. The company is a sub-contractor on the FishPass project, providing excavation and dam removal services.
When water began to push through the partially completed FishPass, the response was immediate.
“Early Monday morning after the first rain event, two additional Team Elmer’s crews were called to mitigate erosion that was jeopardizing an existing parking lot,” says Kelenske. He says those efforts included installing additional earthen berms to divert the water away from the parking lot, stone armoring riverbank edges, and monitoring the site for signs of further erosion.
“Team Elmer’s sent all their crews downtown,” adds McCallum. “Spence Brothers was doing all-nighters. AECOM was the same,” she says, noting all the organizations responded far in excess of what they were contractually obligated to do.
Bob Spence III of the construction firm Spence Brothers says they had people on-site around the clock. “We knew the river was up to begin with. We saw the weather report and as a precaution we had three on-site and two support people [working] all night.”
McCallum says the first leak began at 8:03am. Crews were in place and ready to respond.
“The construction crew was in the hole and saw the start of the breach on the northwest corner,” says Spence. “We had 15 minutes to get out of the hole and save the equipment.”
They immediately alerted the subcontractors and brought in pumps. “We were on 24-hour [shifts] all week,” he says.
Jason Plum of the design and engineering firm AECOM says while there was some loss of hand tools, they were able to remove the large equipment and no crew members were injured. The greatest losses were financial and in time, rather than any structural impact.
“We feel quite fortunate,” says Plum. “Realistically there was no damage to the work. The new dam performed excellently. The new infrastructure made a dramatic difference.”
Dealing with the Aftermath
While the floodwaters continue to recede and roads have been reopened, much remains to be done.
Though not its legal responsibility, the Grand Traverse Conservation District has long worked with volunteer groups to maintain the Boardman-Ottaway’s cleanliness and navigability. “The Conservation District for decades has stepped up to take on the role of cleanups every spring,” says Senior Conservation Steward Reb Ratliff.
The Conservation District will have its hands full this year. Ratliff says every section of the river has known blockages, as the flood swept along everything in its path. Not only trees, gravel, and silt, but everything from sheds and doghouses to lawnmowers, parts of cars, grills, and even huge propane tanks.
“Things that are dangerous, toxic,” adds McCallum.
According to Ratliff, the first step is for crews with the Conservation District to open things up enough that others can assist. They will float the river and remove what they can, while photographing and GPS documenting areas and blockages that need further attention. “We’ll see all sorts of stuff. Dock sections, lawn chairs, picnic tables,” he says.
Some of those larger items will have to be hauled onshore to be disposed of. Fortunately, he says the organization has been doing this long enough that it has established relationships with those with homes and property along the Boardman River. “We’ll get in there, haul it onshore, return, and pick it up with a truck.”
Groups like the Traverse Area Paddle Club and Boardman River Clean Sweep and other volunteers will join the effort. “Everybody has expressed a willingness” to help, Ratliff notes.
But it won’t be an overnight thing. “We’re a couple weeks away. We’re still in recovery mode,” he says. His hope is that by the beginning of May, most of the river will be open to the public. Though complete cleanup will likely take all summer, the river is already recovering, though the flow has likely changed in places. “A river system is driven by change, with jams and scours,” he says.
Repairs throughout the area are continuing. Crews hired by the city closed a portion of Lot A and the 100 block of E. Front Street alley between Cass Street and the J. Smith Walkway to repair a sinkhole resulting from the recent flooding event. Work began last Wednesday and will continue into this week, with intermittent closures expected.
Meanwhile, work on the FishPass is resuming. Team Elmer’s says its FishPass crews are restarting construction after cleanup. That includes water being pumped down to the fish weir mud matt foundation and having crews power wash previously installed rebar prior to continuing construction. Kelenske says that physical soil erosion control measures like silt fence, turbidity curtain, or stone riprap will be reestablished as applicable.
“It’s business as usual. We’re back on track,” says Spence, though not without impact. “We spent a lot of money and time.”
“We are happy to see sunshine,” concludes Kelenske. “You prepare with best practices, but Mother Nature ultimately has the final word.”