St. Charles Residents Sound Off On Dam Removal Plan

ST. CHARLES, IL — Local residents are sounding off on a topic in St. Charles that has drawn some criticism in recent months.

City officials recently formed a task force to provide feedback to city officials on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' suggestion to remove the dam in downtown St. Charles.

In an unofficial survey posted on Patch.com, 62.5 percent of respondents said the dam should not be removed while 31.3 percent believe it should be. Another 6.3 percent were not sure and did not have an opinion either way.

Those opposed to removing the dam had this to say:

It will destroy the river as we see it today. Has there been a chart of the river channel that will be left at low water levels? What will be seen are mud flats from the existing shore on both sides of the the river channel. The vegetation will start to grow in the mud flats and I'm sure the part of the new growth will have some invasive plants mixed in. There are a lot more issues than what I have brought up. Please the public needs to speak up.

We have something special in STC. There's not a pool of water like this for 30 miles in any direction. The USACE falsely claims that removal of the dams will revert the Fox back to the state it was in the 1700s. However, they fail to recognize that the Algonquin dam will never be removed, as it is protected by law and creates the Chain of Lakes, the Dayton dam will never be removed, as it keeps the Asian Carp out of the Fox, the Batavia dam will not be removed, it's owned by Batavia and they already have plans in place to rebuild it, and Elgin's dam is unlikely to come out as they need a pool from which to draw their drinking water. The Fox River will never be how it was in the 1700s. Let us keep our little pool of water. Remove dams in areas where there is no significant pools, such as Aurora and Carpentersville.

Those on board with the dam removal suggest future repairs could "bankrupt the city." Eliminating it would also do away with any potential safety hazards that come with the dam in its current condition, according to the survey results.

Meanwhile, a change.org petition has collected hundreds of signatures from those wishing the dam would remain in town.

Last week, a task force formed to weigh the pros and cons of the dam removal met for the first time. The Fox River Dam Joint Task Force includes members from the city of St. Charles, the St. Charles Park District and the River Corridor Foundation

They will be responsible for looking at "the potential environmental, economic and recreational impacts” of the dam removal.

The topic has garnered attention after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a draft report last fall that recommends the removal of nine dams along the fox River, including dams in St. Charles, Elgin, South Elgin, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora and Montgomery.

“The Fox River is at the very heart of our community and I don’t feel like the issues pertinent to St. Charles were adequately addressed in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ report,” Vitek said in a press release. “I think it is important to gather more information specific to the economic and recreational impacts surrounding dam removal, and to solicit public feedback before any decisions are made.”

• St. Charles Dam Removal Task Force Meets For First Time

Ultimately, the St. Charles City Council will decide and vote on the matter and the task force will provide its feedback to city officials.

The Fox River Dam Joint Task Force met Thursday and mainly discussed organizational issues for the group during the first meeting, according to the Aurora Beacon-News.

St. Charles City Administrator Heather McGuire said the task force will likely meet monthly, possibly more frequently, according to the article.

“As we get into setting goals, we will add consultants and engineers or other environmental consultants to participate,” she said. “We do expect some public engagement as we go along and get their input. With the release of the Army Corps report I feel interest is increasing and people are very tied to it for a lot of different reasons whether it be the tradition and the history of the dam or the actual environmental impacts.

More via the Aurora Beacon-News