Kalamazoo River restoration projects to use $27M in PCB settlements
Updated 2:35 PM;
Today 2:30 PM
The former Plainwell Paper Co. mill dam spillway along the Kalamazoo River in Plainwell, Mich. on Nov. 20, 2020. The structure would be removed under a draft list of proposed ecological restoration projects being developed with settlement funding from paper companies that contaminated the river with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.Garret Ellison | MLive
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KALAMAZOO, MI A suite of ecological restoration projects is being planned along the Kalamazoo River using settlement funding from companies responsible for contaminating an 80-mile stretch with polychlorinated biphenyls.
State and federal agencies are seeking public input on 14 proposed projects between Kalamazoo and Lake Michigan that would remove dams, improve riparian areas and rehabilitate wildlife habitat harmed by PCB pollution.
369k cubic yards of sediment came through Morrow Dam, says river expert
Updated Mar 09, 2021;
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KALAMAZOO, MI The total shocked Stephen Hamilton.
Hamilton, an aquatic ecology professor at Michigan State University, had seen the Kalamazoo River sediment deposits that developed after a hydroelectric dam operator unexpectedly drained its impoundment.
He had seen the turbidity in the water, which was so dark with fine sediment particles last year that objects disappeared from view immediately upon immersion.
He had paddled through the reservoir behind Morrow Dam, which is owned by Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation of Canada.
Removing sediment deposits below Morrow Dam March 2, 2021, by Eldin Ganic
STS Hydropower has officially started a dredging project to remove sediment from an oxbow feature of the Kalamazoo River near South Wenke Park, Michigan.
The project is being conducted in cooperation with the Township of Comstock Parks Department, Kalamazoo County and the State of Michigan.
The oxbow is a natural depositional area that is currently filled with sediment.
Under the cleanup plan, STS will be removing approximately 3,000 cubic yards of sediment from the oxbow area to restore the natural depositional characteristics. The project is expected to take approximately 6 weeks to complete.
Dredging on deck for Kalamazoo River oxbow filled with dam sludge
Updated Feb 26, 2021;
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COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI A hydropower company will begin dredging impoundment sludge from a Kalamazoo River side channel on Monday and says it’s planning to expand efforts to remove excessive sediment from a reservoir drawdown to other areas of the river.
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy says it will dredge a small oxbow section of river next to Comstock Township’s Wenke Park starting March 1. The side channel has been filled-in with sediment from Morrow Lake that was allowed to wash downriver last year during a reservoir drawdown.