Big Changes May be Coming to the Fox River

Leslie Harris here, and the US Army Corps of engineers is recommending the removal of nine dams on the Fox River by 2030, including dams in Carpentersville, Elgin, South Elgin, St Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora and Montgomery. The Carpentersville dam has already been scheduled to be removed.

Most of the dams were built in the 1800s to power industrial operations, but they’re now obsolete.

The project could cost around $16 million, but the study found that some of the dams are unsafe, expensive to maintain and harbor invasive plant and animal species.

The Fox River study group believes that this is the most fiscally responsible way to improve the water quality in the Fox River.

However, some people believe that getting rid of the dams would greatly alter the look of the river, and might even prohibit the use of certain types of recreational watercraft.

I think the dams are pretty, but removing them seems prudent to me. What do you think? Let me know in the Facebook comments