St. Charles dam removal timeline may extend to 2026

The fate of the St. Charles Dam will remain undecided for at least another year as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pushes out its deadlines. In the meantime, the city will solicit consultants to help guide their decision on whether to remove the dam.

At the Oct. 28 Government Services Committee meeting, St. Charles City Administrator Heather McGuire and Assistant Director of Public Works Chris Adesso presented a proposal for soliciting professional services related to the dam based on requests from the St. Charles Dam Task Force.

Committee members were asked to provide feedback on a statement of interest for professional services from consultants with expertise in civil, environmental and geotechnical engineering.

The proposed scope of services includes providing professional consulting advise, cost analysis, measurements, studies, sampling, modeling, permitting and other services as needed to assess the environmental, recreational and economic impacts the removal of the dam would have on the Fox River.

A full list of the professional services can be found on the Government Services Committee’s agenda.

“The idea is that once we pick a team [of consultants], we can ask them to do whatever we choose,” Adesso said.

Adesso said he expects the first phase of the process to take at least two to four months. Once qualified consultants are identified, the city and St. Charles Park District would work together to finalize a scope of services and budget for the consultations before issuing formal requests for qualifications and proposals.

After a consultant team is chosen and contracts are approved, work is not expected to start until the winter of 2025 with no clear timeline for completion.

McGuire said the Army Corps has pushed the deadline for when the city is expected to make a final decision into 2026, though it is not clear what their intentions will be by then or whether they will have adequate funding to continue on their current path.

“We are no longer being held to that May 2025 timeline,” McGuire said. “So I think this gives us a real opportunity to choose what we are evaluating and make sure we are doing that and taking our time to do that without being rushed by that May timeline. ... I would say we have at least the next calendar year to do this.”

Dam removal has been a topic of discussion in St. Charles since the Army Corps released a study of the Fox River that recommended removal of nine Fox River dams in Kane County, including the St. Charles Dam.

In response to the Army Corps’ study, the city of St. Charles and the St. Charles Park District formed the St. Charles Dam Task Force in February with the goal of helping St. Charles City Council members make an informed decision on the dam’s future.

The task force originally was expected to meet monthly until March 2025, when it was to issue a final report to the City Council, which was expected to make a final decision on whether to remove the dam by May 2025.

In July, the Army Corps announced plans to conduct additional analysis of the river, pushing back the commitment deadline indefinitely.

The task force last met Aug. 1, its fourth meeting. Members identified key questions about the dam and prepared to begin engaging with consultants. It is scheduled to meet again Nov. 7.

The task force is a volunteer initiative consisting of three aldermen and two residents representing the city, three representatives from the park district and one member from the River Corridor Foundation of St. Charles. Its members are tasked with engaging with the public and consultants to assess the environmental, recreational and economic impacts dam removal would have on the city.

Previous meetings can be viewed on the task force’s playlist on the city of St. Charles’ YouTube page.

For more information, answers to frequently asked questions and to view public records, visit the task force’s website.