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Work to remove the Carpentersville dam is nearing completion

Work to remove the Carpentersville dam is nearing completion

The Fox River is adjusting to a new flow through Carpentersville as crews continue to work to remove a dam.

Work crews are expected to be out of the river and remove the dam by Halloween or Nov. 1, said Jennifer Rooks-Lopez, planning director for the Kane County Forest Preserve District.

“We’ve gotten to the core of the dam itself,” she said.

Work on the $1.2 million dam removal project funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources began in early September. Removal of the dam will create 10.2 miles of unimpeded flow of the Fox River, the longest free-flowing stretch through Kane County.

Time-lapse videos of the dam removal can be viewed on the Kane County Forest Preserve District’s YouTube channel.

Fox River flow has been diverted to its eastern edge as crews continue to work to remove the Carpentersville Dam.
Brian Hill/[email protected]

Officials said a free-flowing river will lead to improvement in his health. Other reaches of the river where dams were removed have seen an increase in the number and species of fish in the river.

Rooks-Lopez said crews removed the concrete portions of each section of the dam and allowed the river to settle between them. The core of the dam, which officials believe was built between 1839 and 1850, is made of river stone and braced with beams, she said.

The Fox River has narrowed as work continues to remove the Carpentersville Dam. Officials say removing the dam will help improve the health of the river.
Brian Hill/[email protected]

“That made the cleanup a little more difficult,” she said, adding that a lot of rocks, from small pebbles to larger boulders, had to be hauled away.

Rooks-Lopez said some of the larger boulders will be put back into the river. The district forestry department is also looking for other district properties where the stones can be used.

When crews dismantled Carpentersville Dam, they exposed the dam’s core, which consists of river rocks ranging in size from small pebbles to larger boulders.
Brian Hill/[email protected]

While the work is still ongoing, changes to the river are already visible. Above the dam the river has narrowed. Rooks-Lopez said the forest preserve district will pay to expand a canoe and kayak launch site north of the dam on the eastern edge of Fox River Shores.

Volunteers also relocated around 1,000 river filter mussels that were stranded when the dam was dismantled.

She said crews should be ready before the Stratton Lock and Dam on the Chain of Lakes opens later this fall.

“We want to make sure we’re out of the way before the water levels rise again,” she said.