Yorkville Dam:

IDNR To Rebuild Glen Palmer Dam

In summer 2006, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) plans to start rebuilding the Glen Palmer Dam on the Fox River in Yorkville, Illinois. After several public meetings involving mainly citizens of Yorkville, the Office of Water Resources of the IDNR determined that rebuilding the dam was a better solution than removal of the aging, dangerous structure currently in place. The cost of this rebuild is estimated to be between $6 and $7 million dollars when all work is completed. The rebuilding plan features replacing the current straight drop dam with a “step” design to minimize the dangerous hydraulic “keeper” at the base of the dam (which has contributed to at least 13 drownings over the years), a new canoe/kayak passage on the south shore of the river, and a provision for a new fish passage channel on the north shore of the river at the site of the dam.

Glen Palmer Dam
in Yorkville

While the Yorkville area has been the site of a number of Fox River dams since the mid-1800s, the current Glen Palmer dam, named after the original manager of the State game farm formerly located in Yorkville, was built in 1960 as part of the Stratton project. The Stratton project (named after Illinois Governor William Stratton) was a plan to make the Fox River navigable for larger pleasure craft from the Fox Chain of Lakes to the Illinois River by building a series of locks and dams which would provide impoundments that were deep enough for larger craft to navigate. The current dam at Montgomery was also built as part of the Stratton project. Several other Stratton project dams were also proposed to be built in the early 1960s including one near Boulder Hill, just south of the Kane/Kendall county line. The Boulder Hill dam project was set to move forward but objections from concerned citizens put a halt to its construction and to the Stratton project overall. The Glen Palmer and Montgomery dams remain as monuments to the folly of the Stratton project and as impediments to a healthy, free-running river.

In April 2003, the results of an independent study commissioned by the IDNR on the effects of dams on the ecology of the Fox River were published. The study was conducted by Victor J. Santucci of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and Stephen R. Gephard of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Data from 40 sampling sites collected in the period between July and September of 2000 using IDNR and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) approved protocols for sampling fish and macroinvertebrate populations and aquatic habitat features were analyzed. Sites were located both immediately upstream and downstream of the 15 Fox River dams (in Illinois) and also in the middle of some impounded reaches above and the free flowing reaches below the dams.

Findings of the study included:

• Fish populations (both in numbers and diversity of species) were higher in free-flowing segments of the river.
• Dams appear to have blocked the natural migration of fishes resulting in truncated or discontinuous distribution of fish species in the river.
• Free-flowing stretches supported higher quality macroinvertebrate communities than impounded stretches above the dams.
• Dams may be preventing the reestablishment of mussel populations in the Fox River by blocking the migration of fish that transport larval mussels (glochidia).
• Free-flowing sections provide better habitat available to fish and invertebrate communities than did the impounded sections.
• Water quality was better in terms of dissolved oxygen levels and pH in free-flowing sections.
• Dams contribute to production of excessive algal biomass by providing lake-like environments that foster algal growth.

Santucci and Gephard conclude:

“Dam removal is the best option when the ecological health of the river is of prime consideration because removing dams will eliminate barriers to migration for all types and sizes of fish, restore high quality river habitat, and improve water quality. In addition, dam removal is relatively inexpensive compared to other options presented and it eliminates safety risks (people drown at dams) and maintenance costs because the structure is gone.”¹

In light of this recommendation, it seems clear that if the IDNR was interested in helping to restore the ecological health of the Fox River, they would remove the Glen Palmer dam rather than rebuild it. What possible reason would the IDNR, an agency committed to protecting the State’s natural resources, have for rebuilding a dam which has been shown to be detrimental to the ecological health of the river and a danger to the public?

Local public opinion seems to have played an overly important part in deciding to rebuild the dam. While it’s important to solicit local input on the fate of the dam, that input should have been balanced by soliciting input from other stakeholders in the Fox River watershed as every resident within the watershed is impacted by factors affecting the health of the river. The dam is owned by the IDNR Office of Water Resources, not the City of Yorkville and as such is state property. We, as citizens of the Fox River watershed and the State of Illinois, rely on the IDNR to make sound decisions for all of us in regard to protecting our resources. When they bend to local public pressure, as they appear to have done in this case, we should hold them accountable. We, as taxpayers, are being asked to foot the bill to rebuild a dam that is detrimental to our natural resources in deference to the opinions of a committee representing only one community.

If this seems wrong to you, contact your local state Representative and Senator to voice your concern. Citizen action prevented the construction of the Boulder Hill dam back in the 1960s. Perhaps citizen action can once again come through to protect the State’s fiscal and natural resources now.