Manawa dam’s future debated

Tensions flared at a recent Manawa city council meeting when those who want to rebuild the dam were met with those who don’t.

The process of rebuilding the dam will take years to complete, due to multiple studies through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that will need to be done.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will also have input on the project due to the hydroelectric nature of the dam that was in place.

Then even after all of that it may come down to finding the money to rebuild the dam, which will require outside assistance.

Manawa Mayor Mike Frazier said at the Oct. 21 council meeting that if they are unable to get grants to rebuild the dam they will not be able to move forward with the reconstruction. It has been reported that the entire dam will need to be replaced.

This could be a long process as citizens at the recent council meeting called on the city to make information more readily available and keep lines of communication open.

Nick Heise and Ben Hlaban were present at the meeting to discuss options regarding taking out the dam.

“Personally, I wouldn’t rather see the dam out. I think the river is a healthier body of water as it is right now,” Heise said. “Allow sturgeon to get back into their home ranges. The river’s cleaner than it ever has been.”

However, Dave and Deb Sarna, who live upstream from the dam, strongly disagreed with its removal. They argued that it will affect the property values of all 111 residents who live on the Manawa Mill Pond and river, from Manawa to Symco.

Dave said he has been working on being reassessed since his river frontage has almost completely disappeared, which has not been met with much success.

“If the river isn’t restored there is going to be an awful lot of pissed off people in this area,” Dave said.

Much of the conversation during the council meeting also revolved around the tourism aspect of the Manawa Mill Pond and the fishing.

Heise and Hlaban, passed out an alternative plan from the Amherst Mill Pond.

When the Amherst community received an order to repair their dam a few citizens looked into an alternative, Hlaban said.

The plan not only shows the river restored, but also has bridges, pollinator areas for bees and butterflies, built in ponds for those who stand to lose their water frontage, bridges and trails.

Heise and Hlaban both believe this could be a tourist attraction, bringing in longer kayaking routes, and extending some of the trails currently used in Manawa, like the Little Wolf River Trail.

“We’re talking about something that nobody else has in this area, this pollinator garden type of a park,” Heise said at the council meeting. “I think there’s certainly some interest in it in the city.”

Another tourist attraction would be the possibility of sturgeon returning to the area, something both Hlaban and Heise believe will happen.

Audience members at the meeting in favor of rebuilding the dam talked of the year-round fishing and hunting done at the Manawa Mill Pond, which brings in tourism dollars, something that downtown businesses are feeling the effect of.

Jason Bessette, who lives on the Manawa Mill Pond, expressed his concern for the removing the dam.

“If you don’t put the dam back, you guys are cutting off your revenue source for your community,” Bessette said. “My daughter works at the Sunrise Cafe in town, and she said, ‘You know what, there are no duck hunters coming to Manawa anymore.’”

Bessette said he has supported a vacation rental on the Manawa Mill Pond and has had people come from all over to fish the mill pond, including a gentleman from Russia who enjoyed the mill pond so much he bought a house on it.

Funding is also a factor in this scenario Even if the DNR and FERC approve rebuilding the dam the money is also something that needs to be taken into consideration.

Heise said there are more grants available to create green spaces in previous dam locations than there is for rebuilding a dam.

Mayor Frazier met with state Reps. Kevin Peterson and Rachael Cabral-Guevara Oct. 30 in a closed door meeting to discuss the ability to get the dam funding put into an upcoming state budget.

Frazier said the city will be putting out a press release about the meeting in the near future.

More information on Hlaban and Heise’s ideas about what to do with the Manawa Mill Pond can be found on Facebook at Friends of the Little Wolf River.