Broken dam gate drains iconic Grafton millpond

The Grafton millpond is looking more like a mud hole today, a change brought about by the failure of a hydraulic cylinder at the Bridge Street dam.

The failure can’t be attributed to recent wet weather, but instead to a mechanical issue, Grafton Public Works Director Julie Esch said on Tuesday.

On Friday, the village moved the floodgate on the east side of the dam higher to accommodate a planned inspection, she said. But on Saturday a Grafton police officer noticed that the floodgate had shifted to its lowest setting, sending a surge of water downstream and substantially draining the millpond.

“The water was just gushing down the river,” Esch said.”It didn’t take too long (to drain the millpond).”

The officer notified the Department of Public Works, and a crew unsuccessfully tried to move the gate, she said.

The village contacted J.F. Brennan Co. of La Crosse, which specializes in dam work, for advice, and the company sent a representative to look at the dam on Monday, Esch said.

The company diagnosed the issue as a broken cylinder that is used to move the gate, she said.

They tried moving the gate manually but without success, she added.

Esch said the village will meet again with a representative of J.F. Brennan later this week to determine how to remove the cylinder and repair it.

“There’s nothing here of an emergency nature,” she said, noting the flow doesn’t imperil anyone or their property.

“It’s really more of the aesthetics aspect and allowing people to use the river for recreation,” Esch said. “We just tried to quickly assess the situation and make sure there weren’t any major issues.”

There’s only one gate on the dam, she noted, and the structure doesn’t include a fish ladder.

Esch said she is waiting to find out what measures need to be taken, and once that’s known she will discuss the cost with Village Administrator Tim Wellnitz and Village President Dan Delorit before proceeding.

Any funding measure will likely need to go before the Village Board, she said.

While the village is waiting to find out what sort of repair is needed, Esch said, it is also looking at whether any debris  on the now-exposed riverbed, including fallen trees and limbs, needs to be removed and how that could be accomplished.

“It’s something we would consider,” she said.

Once the dam is repaired, Esch said, the millpond will fill up naturally.

“I know that the dam is part of the community,” she said. “They (dams and millponds) can be special places.”