Stronach dam removal project

Stronach Dam is located on the Pine River, 3.5 miles above the confluence with the Manistee River, in Manistee County, Michigan. It was constructed in the years 1911 and 1912. The original project included an earth embankment with concrete corewall, a concrete gravity overflow structure, and a concrete and brick powerhouse. Two (2) Allis Chalmers horizontal-shaft units provided electrical generation, each with 400 kilowatts capacity. The original design head was 18 feet. By 1930, the pond above Stronach Dam was almost completely filled by sediment. Periodic dredging was necessary to continue hydropower production, but the cost of maintenance became prohibitive and the station was permanently shut down on July 8, 1953.

Consumers Energy submitted a dam removal plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in July 1995, under the license agreement for the Tippy Hydroelectric Project, located downstream of Stronach Dam. The Manistee-Muskegon-Au Sable Coordination Team, consisting of representatives from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, US Forest Service and the US Fish & Wildlife Service, provided input to the plan.

The Stronach Dam Removal Plan was a three-stage process. Stage I included access road improvements, construction of a temporary canoe portage, partial demolition of the powerhouse, and installation of a water control structure. The water control structure consisted of a structural steel frame with stoplogs to control the gradual lowering of the pond through the turbine draft tubes. During Stage II, the pond was lowered at a rate of two feet per year for a period of 6 ½ years. Stage III consisted of removal of the remaining powerhouse walls, approximately 100 feet of the left embankment and corewall section, the partial demolition/removal and burial of the overflow structure and north retaining wall, and the restoration of the riverbank and adjacent areas. 8 pp., 4 references.