Removal of dangerous dam in Will County set to begin
The removal process of the dangerous and environmentally unfriendly Hammel Woods Dam on the DuPage River in Shorewood where two people drowned in 2019, will begin Monday.
“Low-head” dams such as the Hammel Woods Dam allow water to flow over top of them, which creates a dangerous undertow despite unassuming looks. Low-head dams have been the site of dozens of fatalities in recent years in the Chicago region. At least 22 people have drowned at a dam in the Kankakee River since 1982. Some refer to low-head dams as “drowning machines.”
There are also environmental concerns with the Hammel Woods Dam and ones like it. Environmentalists say they keep fish from migrating while collecting silt and algae. State naturalists say that the diversity and quantity of fish and water quality all increase without an increase in flooding or water levels when dams are removed.
Natural river rocks will be added near the banks of the river in order to create “riffles” to oxygenate the water, the Forest Preserve District of Will County said in a statement. Native vegetation will also be planted after the dam’s removal in order to stabilize the river bank, according to the statement.
The project is set to be completed in October, but that could change depending on weather and other factors, the district said in the statement.
The Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners hired Semper Fi Land Servicesin October 2020 to carry out the removal. The firm WBK Engineering will oversee the removal, according to the district.
The cost of the project was estimated at $455,000 in 2020, according to previous Chicago Tribune reporting. The removal will be paid for by the Lower DuPage River Watershed Coalition according to the statement. The removal process has been delayed as the project needed to be approved by multiple local, state, and federal regulatory agencies, according to the district.
The removal will take place in two stages. The stone footings below the river bottom will remain while the part of the dam above the river bottom will be removed, according to the statement.
Constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps the 4-foot-high concrete and limestone dam was originally built in order to create a pool of water that people could play in, according to the district. The DuPage River had a significantly lower volume of water in it at the time the dam was built than it does now.
A section of the DuPage River part of the DuPage River Trail and part of the preserve will all be closed as a result of the project.
“While there were objections in the past to removal of the dam for sentimental reasons, people now seem to realize the benefits of removing the dam for environmental and safety reasons,” the district said.