Sheboygan IEM Projects

• Franklin Dam Removal
• Pigeon River

NAME: Steve Galarneau, water quality biologist
ADDRESS: Richards Street Annex, 4041 N. Richards St., P.O. Box 12436, Milwaukee, WI. 53212
PHONE: 414/229-0859
E-MAIL: galars@dnr.state.wi.us

Read the Press Release for Proposal to Remove the Franklin Dam and the the Environmental Analysis for the Proposal to Remove the Franklin Dam

PROJECT PARTNERS: The Water and Lands Divisions of the DNR have joined efforts for the Franklin Dam Removal IEM project. External partners include the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department, the Town of Herman, The Great Lakes Protection Fund, River Alliance and local landowners.

DESCRIPTION: This project will include the removal of the Franklin Dam, located in the Town of Herman, Sheboygan County. The existing concrete structure is a gravity dam where the water freely flows over the top of the concrete spillway. The dam is about 136 feet wide and 13 feet high with a 15-foot wide emergency spillway. The Army Corps of Engineers performed a Dam Failure Analysis on the existing dam in 1988 and the study revealed that the dam was undersized and posed a hazard to structures downstream. See Franklin Dam Pictures. As a result of the study and a site inspection by DNR, on May 17, 1993, the DNR issued a Class 3-High Hazard rating to the dam and determined that major structural repairs were required to bring the dam up to current state code.

The dam impounds about 32.3 surface acres on the Sheboygan River (which includes the original river channel), and the impoundment is about one mile in length. The water depths in the impoundment vary from 2 feet to 5.7 feet deep (DNR survey, 1994). On average, water depth is between 3-4 feet. The bottom within the millpond area is mostly soft sediment accumulated behind the dam, while upstream, the bottom is composed of cobble, gravel and some soft sediment (especially in areas of slow moving water).

The wooden boards forming the emergency spillway gate broke in the summer of 1999 and the DNR ordered the drawdown of the impoundment and removal of all boards. The dam remains open, but the dam opening is too small to pass higher flows so water periodically inundates the former impoundment.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE/NEED: The original dam was constructed in 1851 to service a gristmill operation. This was timber and earth dam. It appears that in the 1920s, this dam failed and was replaced with a concrete structure. The dame last served as an energy source for a gristmill sometime around 1962. In the 1970's, the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department took ownership of the dam in order to obtain easy access to a water source for their fire trucks.

As owner of the dam, the Franklin Volunteer Fire Department was required to repair or remove the dam. In June 1993, the Fire Department advised the DNR that they, as a small non-profit group, did not have the resources to complete the repairs and needed maintenance. Beginning in 1998, discussion between DNR and the Fire Department resulted in the Fire Department expressing a willingness to abandon the dam. The Franklin Dam was declared abandoned and in unsafe condition by the DNR on Feb. 9, 2000.

The purpose of this project is to remove the Franklin Dam on the Sheboygan River, stabilize exposed sediment flats, and revegetate the streambanks of the former impoundment. Removing the dam will eliminate the potential for dam failure. Failure of the dam could result in a sudden flash flow of water downstream, debris including tree limbs, trash, and broken portions of the failed dam. A sudden release of water (flash flood) can harm or kill people downstream, and can damage or destroy property. A full release also could scour the river, damaging or destroying aquatic habitat and wildlife. Repairs to structures and to the river channel could be extremely costly, as evidenced by dam failures in other parts of Wisconsin.

Removal of the dam will restore this section of the Sheboygan River to many of its original characteristics. The dam structure has created a barrier to fish and aquatic animal movement upstream and has fragmented habitat; these features would be restored. The dam has reduced river flow creating a millpond and has created a significant sediment deposit through out the millpond behind the dam. The sediment flats exposed by the loss of the millpond are expected to re-vegetate and to provide additional wetlands and/or wet prairie areas that could enhance both water quality and habitat. Slow water flow above the dam also has decreased dissolved oxygen availability in the water that degrades habitat for many riverine species; removal of the dam would help to re-oxygenate the system. Overall, removal of the dam will allow the river channel to restore itself and should improve habitat for desirable fish, wildlife and aquatic organism. Recreational use of the river for boating and fishing is anticipated.

PLANNED ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND MEASURES OF SUCCESS: DNR Water and Land staff have completed an Environmental Assessment of the project and conducted a public meeting on the proposal to remove the dam by July 14, 1999. The Franklin Dam was declared abandoned and in unsafe condition by the DNR on Feb. 9, 2000. The public notice for the abandoment also included the intent of the DNR to proceed with the removal of the Franklin Dam. Below is a computer generated picture of the river without the dam.

Funds for dam removal have been obtained from the Great Lakes Protection Fun and the Abandoned Dam Fun. The River Alliance obtained a grant for stream restoration after dam removal. A request for proposal is being developed for the removal of the Franklin Dam.

Local landowners will be asked to help with stabilization, re-vegetation, and wildlife habitat improvements.

The project will be successful when:

• The safety hazard posed by the Franklin Dam is eliminated.
• A free flowing reach of the Sheboygan River is re-established in the Town of Herman.
• Historic water quality problems are eliminated in the Franklin Mill Pond.
• Native grasses and vegetation stabilize the former millpond site.
• And when water and habitat quality improves allowing for a more diverse array of fish, invertebrates, terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates, and aquatic plants.

PROJECT PERFORMANCE TO DATE: DNR Water and Land staff have completed an Environmental Assessment of the project and conducted a public meeting on the proposal to remove the dam. The Franklin Dam was declared abandoned and in unsafe condition by the DNR on Feb. 9, 2000. The public notice for the abandonment also included the intent of the DNR to proceed with the removal of the Franklin Dam.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT OR PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROJECT: Contact the project manager listed above.

Pigeon River

LOCATION: Sheboygan River Basin, Sheboygan County, Southeast Region

CONTACT: Frank Trcka, Land GMU Leader, (414) 263-8615, and Vic Pappas, Water GMU Leader

DESCRIPTION: This project is integrated across Land and Water Divisions. The Sheboygan River Basin Land and Water Teams jointly selected the Pigeon River Project in light of the watershed's status as a designated nonpoint source project through the Wisconsin Nonpoint Pollution Abatement Program. The Pigeon River Watershed is a heavily farmed area which suffers from runoff problems and riparian habitat degradation. Water quality conditions of the Pigeon River and its tributaries are generally poor. Aquatic and wildlife habitat in the watershed has been degraded by stream channelization, erosion, wetland draining and the loss of riparian buffers. The DNR proposes improvements the impaired environmental conditions of this watershed. To accomplish this, an ecosystem management approach, integrating research, planning, implementation, and evaluation of resource management and conservation practices will be implemented.

OBJECTIVES: The goal is to plan and implement conservation practices within the Pigeon River Watershed to improve water quality, fisheries habitat, and wildlife habitat, and to restore wetlands and native woodlands. It would reduce point and nonpoint source pollution.

PROJECT PARTNERS: Internal partners include the Bureaus of Drinking Water/Groundwater, Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, Forestry, Wildlife Management, and Watershed Management. External partners include Sheboygan County Land Conservation Department, Manitowoc Land Conservation Department, U.W.-Extension, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Village of Howards Grove, City of Sheboygan, Sheboygan County Conservation Association, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

PARTNER CONTRIBUTIONS: 4,020 hours and $10,400 are needed in the first year of the biennium.