Carpentersville Dam removal is scheduled to begin this month. Grab some Ektachrome and take some snaps soon. | Courtesy Forest Preserve District of Kane County
By Alicia Fabbre | Daily Herald
The Fox River will soon flow freely from Algonquin to Elgin.
Crews will begin work on a $1.2 million project to remove the Carpentersville Dam this month. The project, which will be finished in November, will create a 10.2-mile unimpeded flow of the Fox River — the longest free-flowing stretch through Kane County.
“May this be the model and lead domino in a movement that carries river restoration efforts progressively downstream,” said Friends of the Fox River President Gary Swick at a ribbon-tying event Wednesday to celebrate the start of the project.
Friends of the Fox River representatives joined officials from the Kane County Forest Preserve District and the village of Carpentersville in a ribbon-tying ceremony to signify the upstream and downstream flow of the Fox River coming together with the dam’s removal.
Officials said a free-flowing river will lead to its improved health. Other portions of the river, where dams have been removed, have seen an increase in the number and species of fish in the river.
“All the science shows us that by putting it back the way it was, it actually is better for everything overall,” said Kane County Forest Preserve Commissioner Jarett Sanchez, who kayaked from a boat launch upstream to the event.
Removing the dam will also allow people to kayak or canoe safely without worrying about portaging around a dam.
More here.
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