By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
In a recent discovery Orion Township came to find out they owned Duck Lake Damn.
The dam, directly under Nakomis Rd. Bridge, separates Indianwood Lake from Duck Lake at the north end of Nakomis Trail off Indianwood Rd.?
Earlier this year the township provided proof of ownership with a quit claim deed which transferred ownership of the dam in 1938. In that year Orion Township purchased the dam for $1 on’May 10’from Harry Slater, the secretary/treasurer of the Indianwood Land Co.??
Although officials in the township did not know about the dam’s ownership until this year, it has been properly maintained by the Dam Safety Program, which conducts routine inspections.
A recent inspection bubbled up some issues. Divers noticed water that looks like it is ‘boiling up,? Operations Director Jeff Stout said.
‘There are three valves that have been there since the beginning of time that control the height of the water,? Stout said. ‘Our thought is that something has happened to one of the valves that would allow the water to come up in an area it shouldn’t.?
According to engineers, the dam is structurally sound, and OHM, the township engineering firm, agrees more investigation must be conducted to prevent the near-century year old dam from being damned.