Graue Mill dam removal gets OK
Forest board in DuPage County votes 5-2 in favor
A vote by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County on Tuesday paves the way for the controversial removal of the Graue MillDam, nearby the Graue Mill andMuseum.
The board voted 5-2 to approve a license agreement with the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup to implement a master plan for Salt Creek at Fullersburg Woods, which includes removal of the dam. That group will pay for the necessary work as part of the agreement.
Commissioners Linda Painter of District 3 and Tim Whelac of District 4 voted against the agreement, while Board President Daniel Hebreard and commissioners Marsha Murphy of District 1, Jeffrey Redick of District 2, Mary LouWehrli of District 5 and Al Murphy of District 6 supported the measure.
“This is one of the biggest improvements in water quality we can do throughout the county,” Hebreard said.
Neither Oak Brook Village President Gopal Lalmalani nor former Oak Brook Village President Karen Bushy, who currently is secretary of the Graue Mill and Museum Board, were pleased with the decision or specifically with the vote by Redick, who represents the district in which Oak Brook and Graue Mill are located.
Lalmalani said Wednesday, he was “very disappointed “in Reddick’s vote.
Bushy said Wednesday that Reddick met with Mill representatives about six weeks ago to discuss the dam.
“His vote shows a total detachment from the district he is representing, and he, at least, owedhis constituents a comment.”
Redick said Wednesday that voting on this issue presented a difficult decision for him.
“I appreciate and respect the passion on both sides, but I had to set aside the emotion,” he said. “The ecological benefits are undeniable. This is a great opportunity to make meaningful
water improvements.”
Those opposed to removal of the dam still may have hope, as State Rep. Deane Mazzochi, R- 47th, Elmhurst, recently filed legislation, House Bill 5836, that forbids the reduction, demolition, or removal of any structures associated with the mill and the dam, without the approval of an oversight board that includes representation from the surrounding towns and historical society.
Bushy created an online “Save the Graue Mill” petition, which has accumulated nearly 14,000 signatures, about 3000 of which are from residents of DuPage County, she said.
“With their recent petition, the community has made it clear they want the mill preserved as it is,” Mazzochi said in a release. “It should be left as it is for future generations to enjoy it, and learn from it as we have. And if any changes need to be made, any solution needs to account for all of our neighborhood stakeholders, because altering this history can have irrevocable downstream consequences.”
The Oak Brook Village Board unanimously adopted a resolution in September in support of keeping the dam. Hebreard said the board received 16 letters of support for the project from other governments in DuPage County. An online petition in support of removing the dam, Restore SaltCreek, PreserveHistory of Graue Mill, received 974
signatures.
The DuPage River Salt Creek Work Group was formed in 2005 and has worked to develop and implement a plan that will achieve attainment ofwater quality standards and designated uses for Salt Creek, East Branch DuPage River and West Branch DuPage River.
Salt Creek flows past Graue Mill and the dam, and The DuPage River Salt CreekWork Group believes removing the dam would allowfor better biodiversity of fish and aquatic insect population.
Stephen McCracken, of theDuPage RiverSaltCreek Work Group, said the dam prevents some species of fish from swimming upstream beyond the dam and that the dam’s removal would save taxpayers a considerable amount.
“Itwould cost about $213 million to upgrade the 10 Salt Creek treatment plants, but that still wouldn’t solve the biodiversity problem near the dam,” McCracken said. He said it would cost an estimated $800,000 to remove the dam and make related improvements.
A big concern of Graue Mill staff and board members, and of the Fullersburg Historic Foundation, is that removalof thedamwill stop the water flow used to help turn the large outdoor mill wheel.
“The wheel moving is very important because it’s been an indication to people that we’re open when it’s moving,” saidRus Strahan, a Graue Mill board member, who also is the chief miller.
Hebreard said there is a promise from the DuPage River Salt Creek Work Group in the agreement that the wheel will spin, albeit not from water flowing past the dam, as has been the case in the past.
“It won’t be the same,” said Richard Allison, vice president of the Fullersburg Historic Foundation. “There’s an aesthetic value of having thewater turn the wheel, andwe’d like to keep it as part of educational experience that’sbeenthere for so many years.”