After years of neglected maintenance, state officials have ordered Milwaukee County to repair or abandon the ailing Estabrook Dam.

The Department of Natural Resources ordered the county on Tuesday to fix or tear down the aging structure on the Milwaukee River.

The DNR gave the county a deadline of Oct. 1, 2010, to hire an engineering consultant to provide information about whether the dam can be fixed or rebuilt.

The DNR also told the financially troubled county it has until Jan. 28, 2011, to make a final decision.

The DNR found numerous deficiencies during inspections in 1994 and 2004, and over time, an ever-growing pile of debris and garbage has pressed against the structure and threatened its integrity.

Some work and repairs have been made over the years. This summer, wooden timbers on one area of the structure were replaced with the help of an anonymous donation.

But dam safety experts at the DNR have concluded that the work to date has been inadequate.

Repairs could cost as much as $12 million, according to an estimate by a working group of county officials. The group estimated the cost of tearing down the structure at about $2 million.

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