PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — Briggs Dam in Paw Paw is set to be replaced as part of a $3 million project. In the fall of 2017, the dam was the site of a partial breach.

Back then, heavy rains were blamed for tearing through an embankment. The water from the Paw Paw River flooded an emergency spillway and poured into Maple Lake. Work was done soon after to repair the damage, said village manager Bryan Myrkle.

"That embankment was repaired and reinforced but we don't want to see the water spill over that embankment on a regular basis," Myrkle said.

That fix cost $225,000. He said the village wants to strengthen the dam system along by replacing the Briggs Dam up to the section where two dam gates sit. The plan consists of a structure called a weir, meant to raise the water level or divert its

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