CONCORD, Mich — Is the village of Concord about to lose a key part of its landscape? The rupture of a dam has drained the Village's historic Mill Pond.
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"Over the years it's just become identified with Concord," says local journalist Ken Wyatt of the Mill Pond.
This week, neighbors watched that identity and history literally going down the drain.
"It is such a part of the identity of Concord that a lot of people are almost grieving, I would say," said Wyatt.
Wyatt has written extensively about Concord's history — including the history of its mills and mill pond, which has been here since this branch of the Kalamazoo River was dammed in the 1800s.
As bad as it looks, the Mill Pond may not be gone for good.
The dam is owned by the Joers family. I reached out to David Joers who confirmed that repairs will start on Saturday, and that the family welcomes any volunteers interested in helping out.
I also talked to a representative of Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, or EGLE. EGLE oversees dams in the state.
"The first priority is bringing the water back up in the short term," says Allyson Hartz, EGLE's regional engineer for dams in Jackson County. She confirmed that the plan is to repair the dam and restore the Mill Pond.
"We're hoping that they can get out here early tomorrow morning."
