Removal work to begin on Carpentersville Dam on Fox River

After almost 10 years of planning, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources approved a contract to remove the Carpentersville Dam, which is part of the Fox River Shores Forest Preserve, officials announced in a news release.

Removal is expected to begin later this month.

The IDNR approved a dam removal contract July 2. The Kane County Forest Preserve Commission followed with approval of the contract July 9, according to the release.

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County owns the Carpentersville Dam as well as almost all of the shoreline for 2.5 miles upstream.

“It took some time to get here, but taking the Carpentersville Dam out will be a huge benefit for both recreation and for conservation,” Forest Preserve Executive Director Benjamin Haberthur said in the release.

The dam’s removal will begin healing the Fox River and restoring the natural riverline resource, he said in the release.

“Once the dam is removed, the Fox River will be free-flowing from Algonquin all the way down to Elgin,” Haberthur said in the release. “This will allow the public to safely boat, kayak or canoe in this area without the safety concerns of the dam and/or having to portage around it. We’ll also see the health of the Fox River improve. Fish and other aquatic wildlife will be able to swim freely.”

The number of fish species and the total number of fish likely will increase as they have after other dam removals, Haberthur said in the release.

“Natural water flow will flush out sediment, reduce conditions that promote the growth of algae and other bacteria and decrease water temperature,” Haberthur said in the release.

The forest preserve district plans to mark the occasion with a ribbon-tying – as opposed to a ribbon-cutting – symbolizing the reconnecting of the river. A date has yet to be determined for the ceremony, according to the release.

When agreed to by owners, the IDNR has been removing dams throughout the state in favor of restoring water quality and improving public safety.

With the Fox River no longer being used as an industrial corridor, the forest preserve district years ago began seeking grants for removal of the concrete dam structure.

In 2015, the district signed an intergovernmental agreement with the IDNR to remove both the Carpentersville Dam at Fox River Shores in Carpentersville and the Fabyan Causeway at the Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva.

The IDNR agreed to pay for the engineering and removal of both dams with total costs capped at $3.5 million.

Expected to be multiyear projects because of their complexity, the Fabyan Causeway removal project was scheduled first and completed in November 2019 at a cost of about $1.4 million.

The Carpentersville Dam project followed in late 2019. However, because of multiple rounds of permitting, engineering, regulatory approvals and bidding, as well as the pandemic, the project took longer to finalize, according to the release.

“Projects involving water are always more complicated and one of this magnitude required much more in the way of regulatory coordination,” Jennifer Rooks-Lopez said in the release.

Rooks-Lopez is chief of planning and land management with the forest preserve district.

“We initially engineered the Carpentersville Dam removal project to be done while diverting all of the water. However, the cost for that was prohibitive,” Rooks-Lopez said in the release. “As IDNR is funding this entire project, we reengineered it to be done within the water so that it would be less expensive. The forest preserve district then sought approvals for the changed approach.”

The project has been fully vetted and approved with permits issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, IDNR Water Resources, the Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District and Kane County Water Resources.

Vendors were prequalified by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

“We’re happy to finally be able to move forward with this important project,” Rooks-Lopez said in the release.

More information on the forest preserve district or Carpentersville Dam is available at www.kaneforest.com.

Dam removals in other Kane County communities are pending.