Indian Springs underwater room nearly done - Printable Version +- Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum) +-- Forum: Michigan Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=364) +--- Forum: Michigan Fishing General (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=36) +--- Thread: Indian Springs underwater room nearly done (/showthread.php?tid=343608)

Indian Springs underwater room nearly done - davetclown - 06-15-2007 [url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Josh%20Jackett&-nothing"]Josh Jackett[/url] June 06, 2007 - Although most of the work has been completed on an underwater viewing room at the Indian Springs Metropark, a Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) official said no specific date has been set to open the facility to the public. According to HCMA Chief of Communications Denise Semion, some finishing touches and paperwork are still needed before the room, which is located within a 1.7-acre kettle pond at Indian Springs' James Clarkson Environmental Discovery Center, can open. "Most of the work is done, but we're waiting on an occupancy permit," she said. "There are a few minor things to be done, though, before the occupancy permit can be applied for." The Discovery Center is located in both White Lake and Springfield townships. Semion said the HCMA will apply for the occupancy permit through Springfield Township. The underwater viewing room has encountered a series of setbacks since first failing to open with the rest of the Discovery Center in April 2005. The Discovery Center itself had originally been slated to open in December 2004. The domed underwater viewing facility had most recently been projected to open last December. The viewing room is capped by an 18,800-pound acrylic dome, measuring 20 feet in diameter and nearly 9-feet-tall. It's connected to the environmental education center building by a 20-foot tunnel. According to HCMA Chief Engineer Mike Arens, the viewing room was set to enter a testing phase last fall after the pond had been filled in October. "Since we had the system repaired we need to verify that there will be no leaks," he said at the time. "Once the test proves out, the contractor will come back in and replace carpeting, wall finishes, and finish out the inside of the dome itself." According to Semion, the new wall coverings are now in place and there is currently no evidence of leaking. After initial problems were repaired following the dome's construction, the viewing room's opening was originally postponed until September 2005 because of water seepage into the viewing room after contractors filled the pond. Semion said the project's contractors fixed a problem with a waterproof seal and liner before encountering problems with the 2-foot concrete foundation on which the dome sits. Those problems, she said, combined with winter weather in late 2005/early 2006 pushed the anticipated opening of the viewing room back again until this spring, but foundation issues still couldn't be resolved at that time. When the pond viewing room is complete, visitors will be able to access it throughout the year and observe warm-water game fish and reptiles, including the endangered Blanding's turtle and the more common painted turtle, in a natural ecosystem the pond will provide. About 20,000 plants, including bulrush, eelgrass, waterweed and chara, will be placed in and around the pond. An additional 3,000 plants, including blue flag iris and arrowhead, will be placed in the pond located to the east of the building. Arens said the pond's water, which was cloudy after being released through the building's geothermal heating and cooling system, would be allowed to settle over this past winter before plants and other aquatic wildlife would be introduced into the water. Semion said that project's contractors have reported that the water has cleared up a bit and that insects have been visible through the dome, but that wildlife is still some time away from being introduced. "We're still a long ways off from putting fish in the pond," she said. "We don't want people thinking that fish will be put in right away. Smaller creatures will be put in first to start a food web." The dome portion of the project itself cost approximately $750,000, according to Semion, adding that the contractors have assumed any additional costs brought on by the construction delays. The entire Discovery Center, which was built for about $12.5 million, was funded by the HCMA from funds set aside over the past 15 years. An additional $1.5 million for the project was spent on consulting fees. In designing the underwater viewing room, Semion said the HCMA knew in advance that some maintenance would be necessary on a regular basis, such as wiping or squeegeeing pond scum away from the dome. The necessary frequency of such work won't be known until the pond is filled and scum begins to form. [signature]