 "Today, we're taking an important step toward making Illinois'
waterways safer," Blagojevich said. "The information contained in
this new report will serve as a solid basis to make people more
aware of dangers surrounding dams and create better warnings to help
people avoid them."
The dam safety report presents options and recommendations to
improve the safety of boaters, fishermen and other recreational
river users near 25 low-head or run-of-the-river dams on publicly
navigable waterways. Not all of the options apply to each of the
dams surveyed. Preliminary cost estimates are included with each
option. The range of options includes:
-
Installing
temporary rock fill.
-
Dam removal.
-
Constructing a
bypass channel either beside the dam or in the river.
-
Installing a riffle
pool, a series of boulders that help reduce the dangerous
current below the dam.
-
Modifying the face
of the dam.
Blagojevich included $10.3 million in his proposed fiscal 2008
capital budget for improving safety at dams, the first step in an
initiative that is expected to take several years. This includes $2
million for short-term improvements such as signage, buoys, fencing
and temporary rock fill. The remainder of the proposed capital
funds, $8.3 million, is suggested for major repairs, improvements or
removal at state-owned dams. The introduced operating budget for the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources also includes $143,400 for
maintenance and engineering at dams. The General Assembly must pass
a budget for these funds to available.
The study builds on ongoing dam safety efforts by the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources, such as buoys, signs, fencing,
markings and clear zones. So far during 2007, the department has
performed the following dam safety work:
-
Installed or
upgraded more than 100 warning and marker buoys, including the
addition of lighting on buoys for increased nighttime visibility
at some locations.
-
Installed four new
warning signs at the Kankakee Dam on the Kankakee River, four at
the St. Charles Dam on the Fox River, and plans more new signs
at the Oregon Dam and St. Charles Dam on the Fox River.
-
Completed a
four-step, $2.27 million spillway safety modification at the
Glen Palmer Dam as part of a larger dam modification project in
Yorkville.
-
Distributed warning
materials highlighting the dangers at dams. The materials
include safety brochures, posters and radio public service
announcements to educate the public about hazards near dams.
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The Department of Natural Resources identified 25 publicly owned
dams on the Fox, Rock, Kankakee, Des Plaines, Sangamon and Vermilion
rivers that are considered "run-of-the-river" or "low-head" dams to
be the subject of the dam safety report. The water flow passes
directly over the entire dam structure of a low-head dam to a
natural channel downstream. These dams may produce a pleasing visual
image; however, the flow of water over the dams can produce a
dangerous and possibly deadly undercurrent for anyone coming too
close to the structure. The 25 publicly owned dams surveyed are:
-
Rock
River: Sears, Steel, Lower Sterling, Sinnissippi and Oregon
dams.
-
Kankakee
River: Momence, Kankakee, Wilmington Millrace and Wilmington
dams.
-
Fox
River: Yorkville, Montgomery, Aurora East, North Aurora,
Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, South Elgin, Elgin Kimball Street,
Carpentersville and Algonquin dams, plus the William G. Stratton
Lock and Dam in McHenry.
-
Des
Plaines River: Hofmann Dam.
-
Sangamon
River: Petersburg and Riverside (Carpenter Park) dams.
-
Vermilion
River: Danville Dam.
Consoer, Townsend Envirodyne Engineers Inc. of Chicago was hired
by the Capital Development Board, the state's construction
management agency, to perform the dam safety survey and issue the
report. They were paid $499,600 and began work in late 2006.
"We appreciate the attention to detail that was put into this
report and will use its contents to develop standards that make the
public safer. While we review the information, we will also be
reaching out to communities and asking for local input before
changes may be made at individual dams in the interest of public
safety," said Sam Flood, acting director of the Department of
Natural Resources.
"We look forward to working with IDNR to develop dam safety
construction projects and determine funding priorities. Our goal is
to make Illinois' rivers a safer place," said Jan Grimes, executive
director of the Capital Development Board.
An executive summary of the dam safety report is available at
http://www.cdb.state.il.us.
The full report
is also available online. [To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for
the PDF files, click
here.]
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources coordinates with a
number of other agencies regarding structural dam safety, including
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates hydropower
dams for compliance with federal statutes; the U.S. Army of Corps of
Engineers, which operates and maintains the locks and dams on the
Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers; as well as other agencies
regarding dams they own, operate or regulate.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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