Carpentersville dam removal progress begins again

The removal of the Carpentersville dam is now six years in the making, but Kane County Forest Preserve District officials will sign a deal next week that will bring the dam closer to coming down than ever before.

The deal is a no-cost land access and transfer agreement between the district and Otto Engineering. The iconic Carpentersville company owns the old mill run adjacent to the dam as well as the property open to residents for recreation and fishing.

The district needs access to that property to complete the engineering and environmental work for the dam removal. Once the engineering is done, the project will go out for construction bids later this year.

The process to remove the dam began in January 2015. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources dedicated $3.5 million to remove the Carpentersville dam and a causeway at the Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva. The money should pay for the entire project.

The deal involved removing the causeway before the dam, and the causeway project is almost done.

Carpentersville and Algonquin officials completed a river report before any of the deals showing that removal of the dam will improve water quality, restore natural habitats and enhance recreation on the Fox River. The Fox River Trail runs along the east end of the dam.

Many of the dams on the Fox River were built in the early 1900s to control water levels or to provide fuel for hydroelectric power. Those no longer are functional uses for most of the dams.

The Carpentersville dam still functions to hold back water, but district officials said the area north of the dam will look just like it does downstream. That means it will widen and flatten out to some degree.

Soil samples were taken going north to ensure the change to the river’s footprint would not create new problems.

District commissioners pointed to the recent removal of the Batavia dam for evidence that concerns about flooding or other new problems will not materialize.

“Carpentersville is anxious to have the project completed,” forest preserve district President Chris Kious said.