Sale is in the best interests of the state of Michigan | Opinion

The Lake Allegan Community strongly supports Consumers Energy’s transfer of Michigan’s 13 hydroelectric dams and lakes to Confluence Hydro. Preserving these 13 hydro dams and lakes is essential and in the best interests of the state of Michigan. Allowing Confluence Hydro to take them over is the most reliable and effective way to do that.

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The main argument against maintaining dams and the lakes borne from them is that they pervert the natural state of the river and impede the free flow of fish. We are sympathetic to these arguments, because we believe that fish should have swift, easy passage through their waters and we are committed to protecting the biodiversity and ecology of our world. But, removing Calkins Bridge Dam and Lake Allegan would wreak terrible environmental consequences for our community, the surrounding region and a variety of wildlife.

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Additionally, Calkins Bridge Dam acts as a protective barrier against sea lamprey, a particularly heinous parasite that gutted the fish population ― and the commercial fishing industry ― of the Great Lakes during the mid-20th century. Billions of dollars have been invested to contain, capture or kill these powerful little parasites that latch onto fish and suck until the fish are just bodies with see-through holes. Removing Calkins Bridge Dam would turn 68 miles of upstream watershed into lamprey spawning grounds. Even with adding millions of dollars’ investment in lampricide treatments, this invasive species would multiply in Lake Michigan, deplete the diversity of fish, and strike a blow to both recreational and commercial fishing.

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Removing Calkins Bridge Dam would also subject the downstream Kalamazoo River and Lake Michigan to PCBs embedded in Lake Allegan’s soil bed. Currently, the PCBs are largely covered by a deep layer of clean sediment. Lake Allegan is part of the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. If the lake and the dam were removed, risk of exposing those PCBs would be high, resulting in downriver and Lake Michigan contamination. Over the next decade, Lake Allegan is scheduled for Superfund remediation; removing the water and the dam could increase fourfold the costs to remove the PCBs, making remediation potentially cost prohibitive. All of this exposes people and fish to the PCBs that serve as relics of Michigan’s 20th century printing and production industry. In addition, the volume of sediment now safely sitting in Lake Allegan would contribute to Saugatuck’s already clogged waterways, compromising a crown jewel in Southwest Michigan’s tourism resource.

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Finally, if Lake Allegan disappears, many of the surrounding wells that supply hundreds of homes, businesses and farms would be seriously impaired. According to a hydrology study done on the issue, well owners would be saddled with inadequate water pressure and in many cases, dry wells.

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Our community needs energy, and the demand is increasing. AI, data centers and large distribution centers, as well as climate change, are limiting supply of affordable power. Higher rates will follow, and so may brownouts. Does the state of Michigan think the prudent course is to shut down 13 power generation facilities? We don’t believe that is smart governance or management of state resources. Hydroelectric energy is a renewable, reliable and low-emission power source that uses the water cycle to generate electricity without burning fuel. It offers high efficiency, low long-term operational costs and, through pumped-storage and reservoir systems, provides flexible, on-demand energy, flood control and water supply management. The 13 dams at issue generate 131.58 megawatts per year, enough to power 131,000 homes. As power needs and costs rise, knocking out 131 megawatts of electricity would be both foolhardy and dangerous.

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We are not naïve. We understand the demands and business models of private equity. We know that there will be pressure to convert this investment into an exit strategy. We also know that we have a current landlord that wants to sell out and a state that is now openly ― and infuriatingly ― hostile to our lovely, loved lake and community. We’ll take the commitment and goodwill of the professionals dedicated to profitably and safely operating river hydro in our neighborhood to the other folks who are ready to erase our community for profit or ideology. We strongly urge the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve this sale.

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This guest column was written by Coco Soodek, Stacey Harbor and Phillip Zigulich on behalf of 100-plus community members who support it.

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Kristine Antonivich

Anna Adams

Charlotte Adams

Chris Adams

Thomas M Aldrich

Amy Howard Aldrich

Michael Alpert

Brian Arnold

Bernadette Baker

James Bearup

Kristen Bearup

Derrick Boetsma

Joe Borst

Jason Bowen

Amy Bratten

Brooks Bratten

Perry John  Buckley

Lillian Buckley

Aloi Calvert

Steven Calvert

Kathy Capria

Laura Chickering

Colleen Clark

Michael Collins

Jennifer Crawford

Robert Cudone

Steve & Mary Daoust

Carol Doeringer

Jennie D  Dulac

Mary Elzinga

Paul Elzinga

Bryan Esposito

Dan Esposito

Maureen Esposito

Janice Evans

Stenie Fern

Daniel Fiorino

Joanne Flannery

Michelle Hansen

Stacey and Don Harbour

Lori Hibma

Kevin Hibma

Meagan Hoffmeister

Ryan Hoffmeister

Elizabeth Hostetler

Hallie Hurd

Hayes Hurd

James Hurd

Jourdan Hurd

Kim Hurd

Ryan Hurd

Linda Ivers

Marla Jacob

Stephanie Nagel Jeffers

Steve Johnston

Gipp Klein

Jamie Klein

Michael L Krcatovich

Jane Kuiper

Megan LeRoux

Anthony Lodico

Scott MacLennan

Angela Mathews

Corey Mathews

Ty May

Catherine McCarthy

Harper Joleen McDonald

John Mcgeorge

Madeleine McKitrick

Bob McSweeney

Anna Michalik

Tomasz Michalik

John Molenstra

Nancy Molenstra

Mary Nawrocki

Rob Niedermeyer

Dr. Nathan Noblet

Michael Osborne

Matt Palmisano

Lisa Palmisano

Donna Preisler

Dan Pyne

Mary Pyne

Molly Pyne

Anthony Rappold

Holland Robinson

Michael P  Roth

Ann Roth

Roxanne Saylor

Doug and Amy Schout

Mary Schroeder

Jenny Schuster

Lora Seibold

S. Sichmeller

Leslie Smith

Coco Soodek

David and Nancy Sparks

Julie Spaulding

Taylor Spaulding

Carla Teasdale

Dave Theisinger

Josh Theisinger

Timothy & Virginia Toepfer

Jeff Tucker

John Turcich

Vicki Vannette

Ann VanZalen

Dirk VanZalen

Evelyn & Bob Visser

Laurie Visser

Tony Visser

Frank Vulich

Bill and Christine Wood

Mark Zabloudil

Joseph D Zigulich

Carol Zigulich

Dale Zigulich

Danielle Zigulich

Maureen Zigulich

Michael Zigulich

Phillip Zigulich

Sarah Zigulich