Five Batavia dam removal options considered

BATAVIA – The city and park district in Batavia will seek reaction from residents to five separate options for removing the Challenge Dam from the Fox River.

At a joint meeting of the Batavia City Council and the Batavia Park Board on Aug. 3, the elected officials debated the proposals and how each would affect Depot Pond.

The five alternatives will be presented to the public at an open house event which is expected to take place in about a month.

However, park board member John Tilmon called two of the options “non-starters” as far as the park district is concerned, because they would dramatically alter the pond.

“We’ve made it pretty clear that Depot Pond is something we want to preserve,” Tilmon said. “It’s a crucial part of the park district infrastructure…it’s our responsibility to take care of that resource.”

One of those plans would effectively eliminate the pond, replacing the southern portion flanked by the Depot Museum and the Peg Bond Center with open space, while introducing native plantings to the northern section, creating a marshy area.

“It’s really useless space,” Tilmon said. “We can’t use it for anything.”

The other proposal also would fill in the southern half of the pond, while the northern portion would remain relatively intact but with lower water levels and creating a separation between the pond and the existing park district facilities which provide access to the water.

Tilmon said that every survey of residents performed by the park district shows strong support for maintaining the pond and the district’s recreational programming along the Batavia Riverwalk and on the body of water.

Second Ward Alderman Leah Leman agreed.

“It’s an iconic part of Batavia,” Leman said.

The various options were presented by representatives from Naperville-based Hitchcock Design Group and WBK Engineering of St. Charles.

Two other proposals were similar to each other, in that they would preserve water levels upstream and in the pond.

One would replace the dam with a series of rock weirs that would gradually step down the water level to match the existing level below the existing dam location.

The second would utilize a portion of the existing dam projecting from the tip of the peninsula, while creating a whitewater bypass channel along the eastern shore next to the Challenge Building.

The easternmost section of the dam has already failed. Under the current drought conditions, water gushes around the east side of the dam instead of pouring over the top of the structure.

Fifth Ward Alderman Mark Uher was highly critical of that second option, contending it would be unwise to use any part of the crumbling dam, now more than a century old.

Both of those options are the most expensive, each at more than $13 million for the city and park district to cooperatively finance. The options that would involve removal of the dam and the major changes to the pond area came in at about $4.3 and $6.6 million.

Under any scenario, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources could be expected to finance the removal of the dam, probably in the $3 million range.

Finally, there is the option which has been under consideration for the past 20 years.

This would involve removing the dam and enclosing the pond by constructing an earthen berm extending north from the tip of the peninsula and then curving to the western bank of the river.

The local cost of this option would be about $4.5 million. Pumps would be installed in the pond to maintain water levels and aeration.

While there would be annual maintenance costs associated with any of the options, enclosing the pond is easily the most expensive, coming in at an estimated $95,000 per year.

Mayor Jeff Schielke said he supports that option. He sought to impress upon the other elected officials both the need for removing the dam and the importance of selecting the right plan.

“We really have a treasure with the Riverwalk,” the mayor said. “We need to be careful what we’re doing here.”

Second Ward Alderman Alan Wolff called the pond an economic generator for the downtown, attracting visitors who patronize local businesses.

“That’s something we can’t ignore,” Wolff said.

Tilmon indicated support for either the plan to enclose the pond, or the option utilizing the rock weirs.

There was disagreement over whether any of the options could be eliminated, providing a simpler choice for the public to consider.

First Ward Alderman Christopher Solfa said the proposal to completely fill in the pond will never gain public support and should be taken off the table.

Seventh Ward Alderman Keenan Miller disagreed, noting that he has received comments from residents who like the idea.

In the end, it was decided to show all five options at the public open house.

About 20 residents, most of them living along the west bank of the pond and upriver, attended the joint meeting at Batavia City Hall.

The residents want the pond maintained, but also are concerned about the proposal that would remove the dam and enclose the pond, because it would result in a noticeably narrower river upstream.

The pool of water created by the dam extends north all the way into Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva.