EPA awards Akron $1M to remove dam

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Tuesday visited Akron to announce a $1 million grant help the city of Akron remove the Gorge Dam on the Cuyahoga River.

The money, part of the annual Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, will go to help design a plan to remove the 400 foot high, 60-feet tall dam, which river advocates have called one of the Cuyahoga River’s biggest unresolved water quality problems.

The dam sits on the river in the Gorge Metropark at the Akron-Cuyahoga Falls border, and creates a milelong pool of water that alters the river’s water chemistry. It blocks migratory fish and the flow of the river. It also impedes the river’s natural ability to cleanse itself. Additionally, it allows for the growth of algae, which lowers oxygen levels and kills fish.

“A free flowing river, unimpeded by dams, is a healthier river. This is great news for the region and the entire state of Ohio,” Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson said in a news release.

“The removal of the Gorge Dam will restore the natural flow of the Cuyahoga River, improve the environment, expand recreational opportunities, and can be enjoyed every day of the year,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in a statement. “We appreciate the EPA’s vision and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant that will bring us one step closer to making this a reality.”

The effort to remove the Gorge Dam dates back to 2009, Elaine Marsh, Summit Metro Parks watershed specialist and a facilitator for project to remove the dam. The initiative currently involves many groups, including the Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA, the cities of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls and the state of Ohio.

“The closer we get to the accomplishment of this, the closer to we get to a major victory, not just for the Cuyahoga River, but for all of Northeast Ohio,” Marsh said.

Wheeler on Monday visited Toledo to announce a $414,000 GLRI Trash-Free Great Lakes grant for the city to install trash collection devices along the shorelines of rivers that drain into Lake Erie. On Tuesday, he visited Lakewood to announced GLRI grants totaling about 1.2 million to help clean up trash across the Great Lakes. The grants went to organizations in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Holland, Michigan.

‘A free flowing river, unimpeded by dams, is a healthier river. This is great news for the region and the entire state of Ohio.’

Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson