Dam Removal Project Held Up By Federal Permit Process
Cuyahoga River project may be postponed until 2013 if permission isn't granted soon by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Two Cuyahoga River low-head dams set for removal this year may still be around in 2013 if city officials don’t soon receive a federal permit that was applied for in mid-March.
The concrete dams – located near the Sheraton Suites and Samira restaurant – cannot be taken out without a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has jurisdiction over navigable waterways.
Cuyahoga Falls Engineer Tony Demasi said he doesn’t know how much longer it will take for the city’s permit to work its way through the approval process.
“We hope it’s soon,” Demasi said. “We’re getting close to the date – not a specific one set on a calendar – that the contractor is likely to be unable to do work this year (due to temperatures).”
The dams are being removed to restore Cuyahoga Falls’ segment of the river so that it meets Ohio Water Quality Standards for aquatic life and habitat, and removing the dams is the path to meeting that goal.
According to one project document, dams negatively impact river systems by serving as barriers to fish migration and reduce fish habitat. They also act as sediment traps and modify water quality.
An Ohio Environmental Protection Agency project summary stated that the Cuyahoga River upstream of Cuyahoga Falls saw rapid improvements after modifications to the Kent dam in 2004 and removal of the Munroe Falls dam in 2008.
Successful completion of those projects showed improvement in biological water quality, habitat and elimination of low-dissolved oxygen concentrations in the dam pools.
The two dams in Cuyahoga Falls will be removed as one project, according to the Ohio EPA. Adjoining structures will be stabilized to prevent structural failure due to the change in water pressures, velocities and levels associated with dam removal.
Demasi said the process will be slow going, as contractors “will cut notches into each dam to lower the water a little bit at a time.”
A 2008 hydraulic engineering study confirmed the change in water levels will have no adverse effects on riverfront properties, the EPA reported.
And, in the end, Cuyahoga Falls will still have water falls.
“Instead of one waterfall right there at the Sheraton, when the dam comes out there are natural waterfalls within the river that no one has seen in 100 years,” he explained.
With planning efforts under way to remove or modify the Gorge and Brecksville dams in the next several years, removal of the two Cuyahoga Falls dams is critical to the continued restoration of the Cuyahoga River watershed, the EPA reported.
Once all of the planned dam removals are completed, the lower 59 miles (about two-thirds of the river length) of the Cuyahoga River will be free-flowing.
In This article
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Sheraton Suites
1989 Front St, Cuyahoga Falls, OH -
Samira
2291 Riverfront Pky, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Inthefalls
11:05 am on Monday, October 8, 2012
Well that's just superb. Those of us that live in the Kennedy Park area, bewteen where dams have been removed and where dams are still in, were looking forward to relief from the habitual flooding that takes place. We should have known it was too good to be true.
george j. kostan
1:08 pm on Monday, October 8, 2012
City Hall politics as usual,should we expect speedy action under this administration,i think not. The joy of a summer boat ride on the river was lost due to a delay,quit with the announcements before you indeed know the facts,oh i forgot this is Cuyahoga Falls politics.
Robin Anderson
3:19 pm on Monday, October 8, 2012
Yeah, right...our local government has control over the bureaucratic quagmire at the Army Corps of Engineers...how???
Earl Elevant
6:59 pm on Monday, October 8, 2012
Robin, they didn't bid it out correctly. That caused a delay. Now this delay is a direct result of that delay.
Earl Elevant
2:04 pm on Monday, October 8, 2012
It's almost like Stark is doing the dam removal.
Portage Crossing East?
Hef
11:23 am on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
If all of you people despise the City, Mayor, and City officials so much, why not just move? Make Cuyahoga Falls a better place to live, and take your negativity with you. If you think their jobs are so easy, why don't you take your ill-educated self to city hall and shadow the Mayor, Service Director, Finance or Development Director for the day .. only then will your ramblings hold any weight.
Kathy Moffet
9:27 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
What a sad state of affairs it is when people are not permitted to express opinions without being insulted. How scary it would be to be living in a community where everyone would need to agree with decisions and opinions expressed by the mayor and his appointees. Just because people disagree, does not mean they must move from the community, in fact, it makes our community stronger when the citizens of the community take time to study the issues and then base their opinions on the facts. (P.S. If you feel the need to crtiticize what I have written, please be aware of the fact that I am educated before you respond)
crazyriver
11:16 am on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
As one of the local paddlers anticipating the removal of these dams, the waiting is excruciating! While the original bidding process may have been flawed, it is interesting that the bidder who originally cried foul did not participate in the next round of the process. With low flows this summer, the original schedule for removal activities could have had this completed in time for the Bicentennial. But sometimes things change and we all have to understand that concept. I know I do. The Corps of Engineers can be a difficult group and unfortunately they hold the cards on this permit process. The low water days are most likely over until 2013 and demolition during high flows will only hinder the project and negatively impact the co$t. While the waiting could continue into 2013, I know that the end result of this project will have a positive impact on improving water quality and that is something that I am willing to patiently wait for. I think we all need to take a step back and be patient. In the meantime I will enjoy running the rapids/waterfalls below the Sheraton dam and think about how this "burning" river's water quality will be improved by this project as I sit in a eddy and enjoy this special river!