# Dam failure on the Boyne



## Invisible (Sep 3, 2008)

Before anyone gets their proverbial shorts in a knot over the mentioning of an "unmentionable" let me say that this has nothing to do with fishing, but the river itself. I drove by the river Friday evening and noted that it was up and stained. I went back yesterday evening to fish, and found the river by far the lowest I've seen it in the twenty years I've fished it. 
A significant amount of spawning gravel was exposed, and drying out. What little water was flowing was charcoal colored. Visibility was approximately six inches. There were panfish and pike washed up against logs. I'm assuming these washed down from the upstream backwaters. Trout were rolling around on the surface, and, in my opinion, seemed highly stressed. I spoke with people who were there during the night that talked of extremely high water that had risen suddenly. 

Does anyone have any information on what happened? Any ideas as to what the effects on the Boyne and its inhabitants will be?


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Worrying news. One of my favorite watersheds... 

As of now, there is no news updates at http://boyneriver.org/


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I was there Friday, late morning. I had just bobbered a king...when a white truck pulled up and some guys could be heard at the dam(where Boyne allows authorized access). I heard them laughing and joking, so thought they were just doing the usual maintenance. A little while later, the water suddenly turned very dirty...then the flood gate seemed to open fully and the river rose well up, turning to pure mud. I'd have to say this years chinook and any early-laying coho redds were smothered in silt and/or exposed if the above post is true. 

There were spawning kings in several places, not a bunch, but enough. I would have to think we lost this entire year-class, or a good portion of it. This is a small, wild fishery that only gets hatchery fish through straying, and the only stray salmon are from Medusa creek. Most of the salmon and steelhead here are naturally-reproduced. No idea what happened or the true effects as of now, but I doubt they're good. Shame.


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## Invisible (Sep 3, 2008)

Here's a picture from this afternoon. The color is much improved over last night's almost black water. The level is still rediculously low. The fisherman in the picture should be standing in water close to his knees.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

I sent an email to the people at http://boyneriver.org/ to read this post. Hopefully they will check it out and respond or give us some intelligence on what happened.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Invisible said:


> View attachment 229893
> Here's a picture from this afternoon. The color is much improved over last night's almost black water. The level is still rediculously low. The fisherman in the picture should be standing in water close to his knees.


Still some color though. That water is normally crystal(as you know), unless it gets high, then it has a nice tea-stain. That guy is standing on a portion of a large, swept-redd. Let's hope we survived this incident. I LOVE this stream!


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Well, my email was answered from the FoBR. Hopefully the ball has started to roll in the right direction to get some answers.


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## Boardman Brookies (Dec 20, 2007)

Keep us posted on any news you hear.


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## shotgunner (Jan 15, 2003)

VERY concerning.. appreciate the updates and wishing they weren't needed.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Could it be possible that someone lowered the water upstream at the dam in Boyne Falls intentionally, which caused a push of dirty water down to the BC dam? Maybe they opened the BC dam wide-O, to lower levels further upstream for some reason? Prepping for maintenance @ BC dam? 

I will add that, when the water levels are low like that, the fish (Steelhead) will orient to the current coming through the dam. You can have a pile of fun, if there are fish in the system.


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## shotgunner (Jan 15, 2003)

Could be but releasing water in that high of volume can't be to compliant with any permit guidelines. Seems to me that such a draw down would be accomplished over days not hours. Pike and Panfish washed down speak volumes.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

This is a real shame to hear. This stream is a real gem. I cant imagine its going to help that it is so warm right now.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

I'm sorry to report that as of now, I've nothing to report on the email front. The pessimist in me feels like Boyne USA Inc. could be circling their proverbial wagons. Dunno. The optimist in me is telling the pessimist in me to shut up and wait for some actual facts and chill out... I'll just hope for the best in the meanwhile.


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## HeatherHettinger (Dec 2, 2011)

Hi Guys-

Staff from Boyne USA contacted DNR Fisheries Division yesterday to fill us in on the details. Due to the difficulties they were experiencing with the seals on the flood gate at the Boyne River Hydro Facility, Boyne USA had a new gate manufactured over the past couple of months. On Wednesday afternoon (10/12/16) the new gate was installed, the temporary gate was removed, and the new gate sealed and the facility operated normally. On Friday afternoon (10/14/16) the rebuilt electric wench for the new gate was reinstalled and tested. During testing while, in the up position, the new gate became stuck open approximately 18” allowing more water than necessary at the time to flow downstream. On Saturday morning (10/13/16) Boyne USA staff were able to get the gate dislodged and resealed and staff continued to monitor the facility to insure base flow of river was maintained while the 80 acre pond level was reestablished.

Boyne has informed us that they are working with a hydro engineer and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to modify the new gate so it will open and close without further issues. DEQ has also been notified. The staff at Boyne are aware of multiple erosion issues above and below the dam that will need to be addressed, and are concerned about the fish population as well. The last time my crew surveyed the Boyne below the dam was in 2012, so we do have recent data to compare to- I will be adding this location to our work schedule for 2017 so we can get in there and look at the impacts to the fish community. The Boyne is a great little river- we stock both steelhead and browns here each year, its popular with anglers, and the natural reproduction is strong, so we will keep an eye on things for sure.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Thank you Heather.



HeatherHettinger said:


> On Saturday morning (10/13/16)


I'm sure this was just a typo.

Nice to know that the right regulatory and environmental policy people are looking into this.

I'm sure Boyne USA have the best intentions of maintaining their property.

Please forgive me for what I'm about to say. What is done is done, there's no use crying over spilled _milt_...


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## HeatherHettinger (Dec 2, 2011)

Good catch- I just copied it straight from the email I received, so I am sure it meant Saturday (10/15/16). I think you're right, routine maintenance that didn't go as planned. As disappointing as it is, they definitely were quick to report it to the right folks and to discuss what can be done to repair the river.


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## carpslayer (Jan 31, 2009)

How's the fishing? Heading up next weekend for deer hunting and was wondering if it's worth bringing a rod... thanks..


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

carpslayer said:


> How's the fishing? Heading up next weekend for deer hunting and was wondering if it's worth bringing a rod... thanks..


Unmentionable river. This thread was allowed due to a potentially harmful situation.


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## FishFace23 (Sep 2, 2008)

carpslayer said:


> How's the fishing? Heading up next weekend for deer hunting and was wondering if it's worth bringing a rod... thanks..


Carpslayer Just PM the guys or these cry babies will hang ya!


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## Invisible (Sep 3, 2008)

FishFace23 said:


> Carpslayer Just PM the guys or these cry babies will hang ya!


Wow, what a brilliant reply. The PM advice is solid, however, that is where the redeeming qualities of your post end. The rules regarding unmentionable watersheds are there for sound reasons. In this instance, the small and fragile stream has experienced a catastrophic event that will negatively impact it for some time to come. Flaming those who remind others of said rules is not only short sighted, but also incendiary. Why reduce yourself to juvenile name calling?


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