Lt. Governor Quinn, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Capital Development Board announce statewide assessment of dams

Study will focus on long and short term safety of dams on key public waterways in Illinois

CHICAGO, IL – Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) today announced the state will hire an outside engineering firm to conduct a statewide safety assessment of dams on Illinois public waterways.

The firm will examine publicly owned dams on key navigable waterways including the Fox, Rock, and Kankakee rivers. It will focus on structural and safety issues associated with each dam, along with recommendations for improving public safety at each site.

“The recent tragedies in Wilmington and Yorkville serve as horrible reminders of just how dangerous these structures are,” said IDNR Deputy Director Deborah Stone. “Dams still serve a variety of purposes for the state and individual communities, but it’s clear that expert recommendations must be made to prevent these structures from taking more lives.”

The IDNR has identified 25 dams on the Fox, Rock, Kankakee, Des Plaines, Sangamon, and Vermilion rivers that are considered “Run of the River” dams, sometimes referred to as “low-head” dams. These structures are built across a river or stream for the purpose of impounding water, where the impoundment at normal flow levels is completed within the river banks. All flow passes directly over the entire dam structure, excluding abutments, to a natural channel down stream.

“We realize this is an urgent situation and stand ready to provide whatever assistance we can for this vital work,” said CDB Executive Director Jan Grimes.

The CDB will oversee the engineering contract. The assessment should begin in early fall with completion by mid spring.

“All dams pose threats, but these low-head structures are the ones that seem to be the most dangerous,” said IDNR Office of Water Resources Director Gary Clark. “While we conduct this assessment, we strongly urge the public to respect the power that dams possess and stay away from them.”

The engineering firm being sought for this project will develop safety enhancement alternatives for both short term and long term at the dams, including the possible removal of any hydraulic rollers, which can create a strong undercurrent below the dam. They will also work with DNR’s Office of Water Resources to recommend standards for public safety measures at the Run of the River dams, including signs, boat barriers, buoys, fencing, markings and clear zones.

In addition the engineering firm will also document the location, type and condition of all public safety measures at the state’s 25 Run of the River dams; document the structural conditions of the dams and the channel riverbed conditions at a minimum of 500 feet upstream and downstream of the dams; assess access to the dams for maintenance and emergency services use; assess existing boat portage and boat launch facilities and the adequacy of them for safe boat passage around the dams; and, assess how remaining hydropower operations impact public safety at those dams.

The IDNR coordinates with a number of other agencies regarding dam safety, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates hydropower dams for compliance with federal statutes, and the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers, which operates and maintains the locks and dams on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Illinois rivers, as well as other agencies regarding dams they own, operate or regulate.

“This statewide assessment, coordinated with ongoing IDNR dam safety efforts, will help tell us where the most significant problems are and what we can do to fix them,” Grimes said.
 

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