City Councilmembers Sabra Briere (D–Ward 1) and Mike Anglin (D–Ward 5) said yesterday that the removal of the 90-year-old Argo Dam, despite its structural problems of late, is quite unlikely at least in the foreseeable future.

Built in 1920, the dam originally created hydropower for the city of Ann Arbor. Today, it is no longer functional for creating electricity. Instead, it just serves as a barrier to the natural flow of the Huron River, making the body of water before it, called Argo Pond, suitable for recreational activities. Five Ann Arbor-area rowing teams currently use the pond for practice, including the Michigan Men’s Club Rowing Team.

Members of the rowing team had expressed concerns that a potential closure of the dam would pose serious challenges for their program.

“Everything in my college life has come out of this team,” said team captain Matt Zoufaly, an Engineering senior. “It is a big tradition for me and to have it taken away from us would just be heartbreaking.”

On Aug. 6, the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality sent a letter to City Administrator Roger Fraser stating that the dam’s embankment was in “poor condition due to seepage of water through the earthen embankment and due to the extensive growth of trees and brush on the embankment.”

The letter demands the city reach a decision regarding whether to remove the dam or repair it no later than April 2010. If the city wants to repair it, it must do so by Dec. 31, 2010. If the city wants to remove it, it must do so by Dec. 31, 2012. In the meantime, the flow to the millrace — the rapid current of water that turns the millwheel — of the dam must be shut off by Nov. 1, 2009 so the “embankment deficiencies” can be better monitored.

The letter ignited a debate over whether the dam should be removed or repaired, which ultimately ended in the city council tabling the discussion indefinitely.

Anglin said any decision concerning the dam’s removal will be addressed much further in the future.

“It is not a top priority right now for decision-making,” Anglin said. “The critical area we are talking about is the millrace.

“I am still in favor of keeping the Argo Pond as it is, repairing the millrace, and using the gate structure,” he said. “There is nothing that is showing me the advocacy of removal.”

Briere said the council was mistaken in talking about removal of the dam in the first place.

“The issue of getting rid of the pond is no longer on the table,” she said. “The dam itself is not in trouble. We were acting as if we had to take care of Argo on an emergency basis — when that was never the problem.”

The Huron River Watershed Council, a nonprofit organization, has been advocating for the dam’s removal since 2000.

HRWC Executive Director Laura Rubin said the removal of the dam would benefit the city financially and environmentally.

“Basically, it’s better for the environment, it’s cost effective and it will increase recreational value,” she said. “More specifically, the dam is aging. Dams have a finite life, and you need to keep paying to clean it.

“The pond behind it is filling with a lot of sediment coming from upstream which encourages a lot of algae growth,” she said. “It is a poor quality fishery; fish that used to live there can’t survive there anymore. It has the potential to be a high-quality fishery. It would help in terms of water quality — it would clean up the river, it would restore flows and add flood storage.”

Rubin said from a taxpayer’s point of view, removing the dam makes sense, as it could save “anywhere between $250,000 and $500,000” in maintenance costs per year.

Questions over the dam’s future have left the Michigan Men’s Club Rowing Team concerned about their program.

The team practices in Argo Pond, which would be impossible if the dam is removed.