Argo Dam

The Argo Dam is a decommissioned hydroelectric barrage dam crossing the Huron River. It is located in the city of Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was built by the Detroit Edison Company in 1920 for hydroelectricity before being decommissioned in 1959 and sold to the city of Ann Arbor in 1963. The surrounding area is used for recreational purposes, including Argo Nature Area and Bandemer Park.

The Argo Dam is located in north-central Ann Arbor about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) south of M-14 (Bus. US 23). The dam is accessible just south of the highway via exit 3 (North Main Street). The Argo Dam is approximately 50.5 miles (81.3 km) from the Huron River mouth at Lake Erie. The nearest dams are the Barton Dam 2.1 miles (3.4 km) upstream and the Geddes Dam 5.0 miles (8.0 km) downstream. When the dam was completed, the resulting flooding created an unnamed reservoir of 96 acres (39 ha). The reservoir has no official name but is sometimes referred to as the Argo Pond or Argo Impoundment. It sits at an average elevation of 773 feet (236 m) above sea level and has an average depth of 16.3 feet (5.0 m). The reservoir has no noticeable storage capacity or alteration to the surrounding area; it is considered a pondage reservoir. The reservoir extends for about 2.46 miles (3.96 km) upstream from the dam to U.S. Route 23, and it has a maximum width of only 700 feet (213.4 m). The entire shoreline is considered natural with no major alterations to the original landscape. The dam consists of six automated spillways for a total crest length of 162.5 feet (49.5 m) and a dam length of 150 feet (45.7 m). The dam is 18 feet (5.5 m) tall and has a discharge capacity of 8,500 cubic feet per second (240.7 m3/s). The dam is one of four dams owned by the city of Ann Arbor. The other dams are the Barton Dam, Geddes Dam, and Superior Dam. Only the Argo Dam and Barton Dam are actually within the city of Ann Arbor. Geddes Dam is within Ann Arbor Township, and Superior Dam is in neighboring Superior Township to the east.

This stretch of the Huron River was dammed as early as the 1830s. The Argo Dam was completed in 1920 as a series of hydroelectric dams built along the Huron River by the Detroit Edison Company. The Argo Dam was decommissioned in 1959 and no longer utilized for hydroelectric purposes. The dam was soon sold to the city of Ann Arbor in 1963. The dam was rebuilt entirely in 1972 and utilized to maintain water level in the reservoir and for flood control. At one time, the Detroit Edison Company operated four hydroelectric dams that served Ann Arbor: Argo Dam, Barton Dam, Geddes Dam, and Superior Dam. They were all decommissioned by the early-1960s, but Barton Dam and Superior Dam were recommissioned in the 1980s and currently provide hydroelectricity for Ann Arbor's power grid. Geddes Dam and Argo Dam were left decommissioned, because higher cost estimates and lower energy production kept them from being approved for recommissioning. In 2008, a plan was initially conceived by the city of Ann Arbor to possibly recommission the Argo Dam and Geddes Dam in order to provide additional electric power to the nearby Ann Arbor VA Medical Center. In 2010, the report found it would cost up to $14.7 million to construct new hydroelectric stations at both decommissioned dams. The transmission lines themselves would cost another $1.3 million, with at least $220,000 per year for maintenance. Funding was ultimately denied. In order to recommission the Argo Dam for hydroelectric purposes, a new powerhouse would also have to be constructed with limited space available due to development of the area. In 2013, the city approved a financial plan to improve the surrounded areas of both Argo Dam and Geddes Dam at a cost of $295,530 to a local

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