Superior Dam, constructed in 1919, is located in Superior Township, just east of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. The earthen-construction dam is 35 feet high, 496 feet long, and has an impoundment with a typical surface area of 103 acres and typical storage volume of 700 acre-feet.
The City of Ann Arbor bought the dam from Detroit Edison in the 1960s, rebuilt it after damage from the June 1968 flood, and restarted hydroelectric generation in the 1980s. The dam has a 520-kilowatt turbine that generates about 2.3 million kWh per year.
Sources
- Ann Arbor Chronicle, 12 June 2009 - Hydropower at Argo Dam?
- Ann Arbor News, 7 May 2009 - Ann Arbor officials get Argo Dam issue soon
- FindLakes.com - Superior Dam
- Dams and hydros, City of Ann Arbor
- http://ypsigleanings.aadl.org/ypsigleanings/19529
The Eastern Michigan Edison Company (a subsidiary of Detroit Edison) called on Williams to design a series of nine dams on a 50 mile stretch of the Huron River between Dexter and Belleville. The first of the dams, Barton Dam, was finished in 1912, followed by Argo Dam in 1913, Geddes Dam in 1919, Superior Dam and the Papermill Dam in 1920 and French Landing Dam in Belleville in 1925. Plans on the drawing board for Dexter and Delhi were cancelled because of the depression as were several lakeside villa communities planned as part of the dam developments. Only Barton Hills was completed.
