HOLLY, Mich. — A fight over the future of the Holly Mill Pond is pitting local officials and residents against the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), which recently ordered an emergency drawdown of the waterway despite village leaders’ objections.
The state agency lowered the water level by nearly four feet, exposing large swaths of sediment and altering the landscape that has defined the community for more than 150 years. EGLE said the action was necessary due to the dam’s “poor” safety rating, but village officials argue the structure was not in imminent danger of failure.
