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Boardman River
Ottaway River, Boardman–Ottaway River
The Boardman River from a pedestrian bridge near Kingsley, Michigan
Map
Native nameAdaawewiziibi (Ojibwe)
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CitiesTraverse City, South Boardman, Kalkaska
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationUnion Township, Grand Traverse County: Confluence of North & South Branches, Michigan
Mouth 
 • location
Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan, Michigan
Length28 mi (45 km)
Basin features
ProgressionBoardman River → Grand Traverse Bay → Lake Michigan → Lake Huron
Tributaries 
 • leftKids Creek, Beitner Creek, Swainston Creek, Carpenter Creek, South Branch
 • rightArbutus Lake Outlet, North Branch

The Boardman River (/bɔːrdmən/ BORD-mən), also known as the Ottaway River or the Boardman–Ottaway River,[1] is a 28.2-mile-long (45.4 km)[2] river in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It rises in western Kalkaska County, and flows west and north through Grand Traverse County to end in downtown Traverse City at the Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan. The river's watershed drains an area of 295 square miles (760 km2) through a combined 130 miles (210 km) of river and tributaries. Additionally, the Boardman River is considered one of the top ten trout streams in Michigan.[3]

History

The Boardman River in downtown Traverse City
The Boardman River near its mouth in downtown Traverse City; the land on the banks of the river in this location is urbanized, including some public greenspace.
Site of the former Brown Bridge Pond at Brown Bridge Quiet Area in East Bay Township; impounded from 1922 until 2012, the valley is now used as a public recreation area.

In the year 1847, Captain Horace Boardman of Naperville, Illinois, purchased land at the head of Grand Traverse Bay, at a river then known as the Ottaway River.[4] With the arrival of Hannah-Lay in the 1850s, the river was colloquially, and later officially, renamed the Boardman River. Recent movements have sought to change the name of the river to its original name, either in full or abbreviated (i.e. Boardman–Ottaway River)[5][1]

Later in 1800s, as Traverse City was first being settled, the Union Street Dam was being built by the Hannah-Lay Company as a saw mill. Around this time, citizens were dumping sewage into the Boardman, which was causing severe health problems. The lake became very industrialized. The western shore of the lake was used for a log rollaway and rail yard on the Great Lakes Central Railroad, up until the early 2000s.[6] Additionally, five dams were built along the main course of the river.

Course

The Boardman River has a rather unusually-shaped path. The river rises from streams in western Kalkaska County, east of US 131. The flow is generally west–southwest to west until reaching Blair Township, where the course turns due north. Upon exiting Boardman Lake, water flows west, before turning back due east, forming a U-shape around downtown Traverse City. The river then angles northeast where it enters the west arm of Grand Traverse Bay.

Boardman Lake is a body of water on the mainstream Boardman River, about a mile upstream from Grand Traverse Bay, and adjacent to Traverse City. The lake grew in size, by about 30%, in 1894, with the completion of the Union Street Dam in Traverse City.

This lake is also a popular recreational and fishing lake.[7] It has an abundance of bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, sunfish, walleye, and yellow perch.[8]

Restoration

Main article: Boardman River Dams Ecosystem Restoration Project

Five dams were built along the main course of the Boardman River, in upstream order: the Union Street Dam, Sabin Dam, Boardman Dam, Keystone Dam, and Brown Bridge Dam.[9] In 1961, the Keystone Dam was washed out after flooding upstream.[10] On October 6, 2012, while preparing to demolish Brown Bridge Dam, the highest on the river and largest in terms of impoundment, a temporary structure put in place to facilitate drawdown at the dam was breached, flooding the river valley.[11] In June 2014 the Michigan DEQ issued a report identifying erosion around the temporary drawdown structure as the likely cause of the failure.[12] Brown Bridge Dam removal was completed in January 2013 and resulted in the reestablishment of 2.5 miles of river channel.[9]

In 2017, Boardman Dam and its impoundment structure were demolished, along with an adjacent one-lane bridge carrying Cass Road over the river.[13][14] A new bridge for Cass Road over the new future river channel was completed the previous year. With the removal of this dam, the watercourse was realigned under the new bridge for the first time.[15]

Sabin Dam was fully removed by the end of 2018.[16] This leaves Union Street Dam as the only remaining impoundment on the main course of the Boardman River. Recently, proposals to reconstruct the Union Street Dam to allow for a more fish-friendly configuration have been proposed by the city of Traverse City.[17]

Bridges

The following road bridges lay on the main course of the river, entirely within Grand Traverse County.

Name Route Type City Location
Murchie Bridge[18] US 31/M-37/M-72 (Grandview Parkway) State highway Traverse City 44°45′53″N 85°36′46.7″W / 44.76472°N 85.612972°W / 44.76472; -85.612972
Park Street Bridge[19] Park Street City street 44°45′52.5″N 85°37′05.6″W / 44.764583°N 85.618222°W / 44.764583; -85.618222
North Cass Street Bridge[20] Cass Street City street 44°45′53.1″N 85°37′15.8″W / 44.764750°N 85.621056°W / 44.764750; -85.621056
North Union Street Bridge[21] Union Street City street 44°45′53.7″N 85°37′25.9″W / 44.764917°N 85.623861°W / 44.764917; -85.623861
West Front Street Bridge[22] West Front Street City street 44°45′50.6″N 85°37′38.8″W / 44.764056°N 85.627444°W / 44.764056; -85.627444
Trunk Line Bridge Union Street City street 44°45′43.3″N 85°37′25.8″W / 44.762028°N 85.623833°W / 44.762028; -85.623833
American Legion Memorial Bridge Cass Street City street 44°45′41″N 85°37′15.7″W / 44.76139°N 85.621028°W / 44.76139; -85.621028
East Eighth Street Bridge[23] East Eighth Street City street 44°45′33.9″N 85°36′59.7″W / 44.759417°N 85.616583°W / 44.759417; -85.616583
South Airport Road North Culverts South Airport Road (westbound) County road Garfield Township 44°44′00.7″N 85°36′59.8″W / 44.733528°N 85.616611°W / 44.733528; -85.616611
South Airport Road South Culverts South Airport Road (eastbound) County road 44°43′59.7″N 85°36′59.8″W / 44.733250°N 85.616611°W / 44.733250; -85.616611
Robbins Bridge[24] Cass Road County road 44°41′55.3″N 85°37′24″W / 44.698694°N 85.62333°W / 44.698694; -85.62333
Beitner Road Bridge[25] Beitner Road County road Blair Township 44°40′29.7″N 85°37′50.5″W / 44.674917°N 85.630694°W / 44.674917; -85.630694
River Road West Bridge[26] River Road County road East Bay Township 44°38′49.2″N 85°37′50.5″W / 44.647000°N 85.630694°W / 44.647000; -85.630694
River Road East Bridge[27] River Road County road 44°38′39.9″N 85°32′08.8″W / 44.644417°N 85.535778°W / 44.644417; -85.535778
Garfield Road Bridge[28] Garfield Road County road Paradise Township 44°38′13.1″N 85°31′05.6″W / 44.636972°N 85.518222°W / 44.636972; -85.518222
Brown Bridge Road West Bridge Brown Bridge Road County road 44°38′32.2″N 85°30′54.7″W / 44.642278°N 85.515194°W / 44.642278; -85.515194
Brown Bridge Road Middle Bridge Brown Bridge Road County road Union Township 44°39′06.1″N 85°27′18.7″W / 44.651694°N 85.455194°W / 44.651694; -85.455194
Brown Bridge Road East Bridge Brown Bridge Road County road 44°39′24.5″N 85°26′18.6″W / 44.656806°N 85.438500°W / 44.656806; -85.438500
Supply Road Bridge Supply Road County road 44°40′29″N 85°23′45.7″W / 44.67472°N 85.396028°W / 44.67472; -85.396028
The American Legion Memorial Bridge, which carries Cass Street over the Boardman River near downtown Traverse City.

Drainage basin

Including Boardman Lake, the Boardman River system drains all or portions of the following municipalities:[29]

The Boardman River is also drains the following lakes:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Clark, Sierra (March 20, 2022). "Rupture, recovery: Boardman-Ottaway River's future flows from past". Traverse City Record-Eagle. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, accessed November 21, 2011
  3. ^ Boardman River Natural River Plan (PDF). Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
  4. ^ Tanner, H.S. (1836). "An New Map of Michigan with Its Canals, Roads & Distances" (Map). Tanner's Universal Atlas. Not to scale. Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner. Retrieved November 17, 2017 – via Old Map Downloads.
  5. ^ "The Ottaway, A River Reborn". Into The Outdoors. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "History". Grand Traverse Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. ^ "Boardman Lake Fishing-Maps-Fish Species-Depth-Size-Boat Access". www.fishmich.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  8. ^ "Boardman Lake". Lake-Link. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Dam Project". www.theboardman.org.
  10. ^ "Dams | Grand Traverse Journal". Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  11. ^ "Boardman Flood: Heartbreak, Relief, Questions". February 1, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013.
  12. ^ Brown Bridge Dam Failure Report. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
  13. ^ "Boardman River Watershed – The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay". Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  14. ^ Scott, Allison (March 28, 2016). "Traffic rerouted for Cass Road Bridge construction". Up North Live. Traverse City, Michigan: WPBN-TV. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Pagan, Gabriella (September 21, 2016). "Traverse City native, 85, first to cross Cass Road Bridge". Up North Live. Traverse City, Michigan: WPBN-TV. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  16. ^ theboardman.org[full citation needed]
  17. ^ "Traverse City project would aid native fish while blocking invasive species". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  18. ^ Mahieu, Devon (June 28, 2019). "Murchie Bridge in Traverse City experiencing high water levels". Up North Live. Traverse City, Michigan: WPBN-TV. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  19. ^ "Park Street Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved October 29, 2022.[self-published source]
  20. ^ "North Cass Street Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved October 29, 2022.[self-published source]
  21. ^ "North Union Street Bridge". HistoricBridges.org. Retrieved October 29, 2022.[self-published source]
  22. ^ "West Front Street Bridge Opens July 1st". City of Traverse City. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  23. ^ "Eighth Street Bridge Work Starts This Week". The Ticker: Traverse City News & Events. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "River - Paddle Middle Boardman". Grand Traverse Conservation District. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  25. ^ "Beitner Road over Boardman River, Grand Traverse County, Michigan". BridgeReports.com. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "River Road in Grand Traverse County to Close Starting Monday". 9 & 10 News. Cadillac, Michigan: WWTV-TV. March 14, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  27. ^ "East River Road - Grand Traverse County, MI". Valmont Structures 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  28. ^ Link, Mardi. "Bridges over expensive water: Bids for repair rise high". Traverse City Record-Eagle. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  29. ^ "11363116-large.jpg (Boardman River Watershed)". MLive.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
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