Batavia tables dam removal study, seeks more options

Batavia City Council members could not reach an agreement on whether or not to take the first step towards removing the city’s dam from the Fox River.

A feasibility study was originally planned to be voted on later this month and begin in May, but the discussion was tabled at the April 15 Committee of the Whole meeting after members failed to reach a consensus.

The concrete low head dam in Batavia is more than 100 years old and has been crumbling for years. It spans about 365 feet in length with an 11.5-foot drop.

The Fox River Corridor Master Plan, approved by City Council in 2023, calls for the dam to be removed and replaced with a series of rock weirs in order to maintain Depot Pond, which is currently impounded by the dam.

Committee members reviewed a contract with consultant V3 Companies to study the feasibility of the dam’s removal and identify any available alternative options.

The City would pay V3 Companies $19,950 to conduct the study, which would assess multiple three options: full dam removal, the installation of rock weirs and the addition of recreational features like a whitewater rafting channel.

During discussion, multiple aldermen raised question as to why the feasibility study was looking into additional dam alternatives besides those outlined in the master plan and were in favor of narrowing the scope of the study.

Based on those requests, City Administrator Laura Newman said she will reach out to V3 and other consultants who submitted proposals and getting new proposals with more refined scopes of services.

Aligned with The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' study of the Fox River in 2023 that recommended removal of several Fox River dams in Kane County, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was expected to fund a portion of the project when the master plan was approved.

Since then IDNR has changed its directive, and it is unclear when the city would receive funding, or if the rock weir alternative outlined in the master plan would even qualify.

Aldermen Allan Wolff and George Ajazi had reservations about spending money on the project without any assurance that they would receive funding from IDNR.

Aldermen Tony Malay, Mark Uher and Sarah Vogelsinger, as well as Mayor Jeff Schielke, on the other hand, wanted to move forward with the study.

Uher said without the study they won’t be able to plan or budget the project, since they don’t know what’s possible. He added that federal funding can require quick action when it becomes available, stressing the need to have a plan in place.

“Every time we stop moving forward, we’re putting ourselves at greater risk of losing money,” Uher said.

Committee members tabled the discussion at the suggestion of Alderman Abby Beck, until alternative feasibility study proposals are submitted for comparison.