Gorge Dam removal underway, Ohio contributes $25 million
The state of Ohio is contributing $25 million to the removal of the Gorge Dam in Gorge Metro Park, with the first official step of the removal process starting Monday.
But don’t expect to see anything different at the dam site itself. The first step is only tree removal activities at the Chuckery Area of Cascade Valley Metro Park, where tons of contaminated sediments from behind the dam will be placed, according to Summit Metro Parks.
According to the park district, the Chuckery Area is historically a dumping site and will be used as the permanent disposal area for the contaminated sediment. The trees have to be removed to make room to store the sediment.
“We are putting it in a better location, where it can be managed in perpetuity,” Summit Metro Parks Chief of Conservation Mike Johnson said at a community meeting on the project last month. “Ideally, it would be great if we could make it disappear, but we can’t do that.”
After the tree removal work, the city of Akron will begin work on the Northside Interceptor Tunnel in the same area. The park district said that the Chuckery Area will be closed as necessary for public safety throughout the Gorge Dam and tunnel construction work.
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What is the Gorge Dam?
Located in Gorge Metro Park on the border of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, the 420-foot-wide, 60-foot-tall dam was built in 1911 for hydroelectric power and later provided cooling water for a coal-fired power plant. The dam, which is no longer functional, is tentatively planned for removal by 2026, although permits for later phases of the project remain under review.
The project, which is expected to reveal the buried waterfall for which Cuyahoga Falls is named, will include removing an estimated 1 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment — including heavy metals, oil and grease — from the 1.4-mile-long dam pool that’s currently used by fishers. The dam can’t be removed until the sediment is removed.
The sediment contains residue from times when the river was treated as an open sewer for both human and industrial waste. The key contaminants are lead, cadmium, pesticides and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, the last of which are from incomplete combustion of oil and coal.
Surveys show there is 10 to 20 feet of sediment at the bottom of the dam pool, extending about one mile upriver. In all, the dredging is expected to take about 16 months.
How is the sediment being removed from behind the Gorge Dam?
According to the park district, a mechanical dredge system consisting of a clamshell bucket, crane and scow barge will troll the reservoir, removing sediment scoop by scoop. The work will likely be completed over two construction seasons. Each full scow barge will then be unloaded at the staging area, where it will be screened to remove any large debris.
Gorge Dam removal:Site prep for Gorge Dam sediment disposal may start this month
The park district said the still-wet sediment will then be pumped through a temporary pipeline under the Front Street Bridge and then alongside Highbridge Trail. It will continue under the High-Level Bridge at North Main Street to the Chuckery Area, about two miles from the dam.
According to the park district, the sediment will be mixed with concrete in the pipeline to form a more solid material that can be contoured before it’s fully stabilized. The park district said the disposal area is designed to ensure permanent stabilization of the sediment mounds, minimize impacts to buried utilities and appropriately manage stormwater.
The park district said that after final grading is complete, the sediment mounds will be capped with soil, and the area will be planted with a native mix of trees and vegetation and contoured to look as natural as possible.
The project is currently in the second of four phases. In the first phase, the Ohio Environmental Protection agency completed a cost estimate and feasibility study, Summit Metro Parks said.
The third and fourth phases include removing the sediment from the dam pool, the deconstruction of the dam itself and restoring the river channel through Gorge Metro Park to help the river and surrounding landscape return to its natural state, the park district said.
Gorge Dam is last to be removed from Cuyahoga River
The Brecksville Dam was the last dam to be removed in an effort to improve water quality by letting the Cuyahoga River flow naturally. Dams in Kent (2005), Munroe Falls (2006) and two in Cuyahoga Falls (2013) have already come down.
With the Brecksville Dam removed in 2020, the Gorge Dam is the last one scheduled to be removed on the Cuyahoga. The dam at Lake Rockwell, which provides drinking water for Akron, will remain.
Visit bit.ly/freethefalls for more information on the Gorge Dam removal project.
Reporter Eric Marotta contributed reporting. Contact Beacon Journal reporter Emily Mills at [email protected] and on Twitter @EmilyMills818.
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