Monroe Quarry

[boat sju]

Just out of morbid curiosity, has anyone been by there or talked to Brandin lately to see what happened to the place? Is the dive shop still open?

Boats - this thread will probably catch your eye since you live so close. What I'm talking about is a quarry at LaPlaisance and Dunbar Rds. in Monroe that we were diving a few years back. There were access issues and the water came up and flooded a few low lying properties that had been built on. Anyway, long story, but no more diving there as far as I know.

 

[PvtStash]

Oh man I WISH this quarry were happening... I live like 15 min. from it... , unfortunately the last I heard the area was going to be Developed? condos maybe? I dont think its a viable dive location anymore... a shame...

 

[boat sju]

Do you know if they stabilized the water level ? I thought I heard that the DEQ allowed them to put in an overflow pipe to allow some relief.

 

[Busdiver]

I am not sure those guys ever had the rights to any dive activity on that quarry. It would be interesting to find out and I believe they were running a shop called Monroe Dive Center.

I liked them. The quarry was close. The viz was awful. The set up hilarious.

 

[AirBreather]

OK here is the straight skinny about the Monroe quarry as I know it. (I own a lot on the quarry .) The quarry is totally owned as private land. So the public can not dive on it legally. The major owner of the land has pushed the high dirt wall which surrounded the quarry into the water. That is why the vis sucks. In addition, the big wall which was built on the east side caved in about two years ago. You will have to drive by to see what has been done to restore it. The level has been stabilized. The major owner was forced to install a weir gate on the northeast corner which dumps the overflow into the creek. It is working well the last time I was out there. The rising levels almost destroyed the white house on La Pleasants, south of Jones street. Monroe dive center is out of business but I think you can still contact the owner at the old number. I am not sure. The DNR or the DEQ have stated that it is now a lake not a quarry. I don’t know what that means legally. So now, if you want to sink something in the water you have to get permits, permission and a lot of other stuff. This quarry, if it had been approached properly could have been the Mecca of diving in Michigan. But quite frankly the major owner is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and only saw $$$ in condos. But so far nothing is being done but talk. There was a guy about two or three years ago that was going to develop it but he backed out when he saw the condition and the improvements which had to be done after the owner tried to “fix it.” This is all I know . Dive at your own risk both legally and safety wise.