LETTERS TO THE EDITORS & RESPONSES
Page 2

Let's follow through with dam decision
In the summer of 2002 a joint meeting of the Batavia City Council and the Batavia Park District was held to recommend to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources a plan for the north dam in Batavia. This was the culmination of a process started in 1994 when the city sought help to deal with the breach in the dam. Since 1994, there were numerous public meetings, engineering studies and consultant reports on what should be done with the north dam. I made the motion to recommend to the IDNR that the north dam be removed. It passed the council on an 11-2 vote. Since then, a question has been placed on the April 1 ballot to ask if the north dam should be removed. There were many reasons to support the total removal of the north Batavia dam. Repair of the existing dam is not an option. The ogee-style dam is dangerous. Anyone who is swept over the top of the dam will be trapped in the undertow and drown. This has happened in the past. To repair the Batavia dam is to ask for more tragedies. Some people have suggested we should just let the dam wash away. If this were done, the depot pond by the Riverwalk would be left dry. If Batavia wanted to preserve the pond, it would have to bear the cost of building a berm to retain water in the pond. A new, safer full-height dam was investigated in 1996. Models of a dam that would prevent drowning were developed. These designs prevented fish migration and created a stagnate pond behind the dam that inhibited proper plant growth and fish habitat. Since the IDNR wanted to promote a healthy river, these plans were not followed up. Over the course of many public meetings, two options were presented: a half-height dam and total dam removal. Both options preserved the depot pond with a berm and a pumping system. Both options used the silt from the dam pond to rebuild the banks as wetlands so there would not be mud flats along both sides. Both the Friends of the Fox and the Sierra Club supported the full dam removal. After reading the reports and listening to the public comment, I decided that full dam removal was best for the river and Batavia. I will vote "yes" for dam removal this April 1 and ask that others do the same so the IDNR will proceed with this worthwhile project.
James T. Volk Fourth Ward Alderman Batavia

3-4-03

We were pleased last July that our City Council voted to recommend the full removal of the north Batavia dam.

Opponents of the dam removal cite the cost. The upfront costs to remove or replace the dam are virtually the same. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) report, Alternative Evaluation Report, Replacement of Upper Batavia Dam, Kane County, Illinois, the cost to replace the dam is $8.3 million (Alternative 1). The cost to remove the dam will be $8.8 million (Alternative 4). (Note: the repair of the current dam structure is not an option as defined in the IDNR's report due to safety and regulatory concerns).

Replacing the dam with a new dam structure would leave the city and future Batavians with undue financial burdens because the city of Batavia would need to assume financial liability for the maintenance of the new dam. Not only would that mean the expensive task of making any repairs that might occur over its expected 50-year life, but it also means that future Batavians will be subject to the same time and resource consuming process that we face today.

Plans for removal of the dam also include the creation of a depot pond that would never need dredging. If the dam is replaced, the depot pond would remain the same. According to the IDNR, this pond would have to be dredged every 20 years, and the cost would be over $1 million each time — another cost we would pass on to future Batavians.

Removing the dam and restoring the Fox River will undoubtedly change the face of the river. We feel the new, more natural Fox River system and the avoidance of the future costs of maintaining a new unnatural dam are both good reasons to vote Yes for removal of the dam.

Ron and Mary Anne Gilkerson  Batavia

3-4-03

I read with interest the letter from Mr. Ramsey concerning the decision by the Batavia City Council to remove the North Batavia Dam.

Mr. Ramsey says the dam can be "repaired for much less money." However, repair is not an option according to the report presented to the city by IDNR. The dam must be removed or replaced, both options at a similar cost.

Removal, in my opinion, is best for the river. If Mr. Ramsey has creditable evidence that repair was an option, it would be nice if he made that document available in full.

Fran Caffee Aurora

Letter to Batavia City Council
3-4-03

I have been actively involved with dam removal issues on the Fox River for the past 6 years. The recent spate of letters and information coming from the group that wants to save the dam is truly astonishing.

They are just making things up in order to get reactions from people. Jean O'Sullivan recently published that the river was going to be 40 feet wide when the dam comes out. Others are talking of a wasteland of mud flats, fish kills from the release of sediments downstream and an endless array of other woes. Where is this information coming from? Not a single study that I have read over the past 6 years indicates any of these things will happen.

I don't hesitate to tell you that I live in Elmhurst, but I run a fishing guide service on the Fox, wading and walking trips only. I spend an average of 100 days a year standing in the water of the Fox, from my ankles to my chest. Since I don't fish at dams, I see nothing but opportunity in freeing up as much river as possible. I also bring my family out here numerous times a year to enjoy Les Arends Forest Preserve, Red Oak Nature Center and the wonderful restaurants that are within site of the river. I hope this helps you understand that not only Batavians have a stake in the overall health of the river.

The one comment that I have heard from everyone that has ever studied dam removals, not just on the Fox, but on rivers nationwide, is that if you want to do what is best for the ecology of a river, remove as many dams as possible.

I'm afraid that Batavians that will vote on April 1st to keep the dam will be basing their decision only on the shrillness of those spouting all of the misinformation on the grave consequences of dam removal.

The one thing that is forgotten in all of the discussions is that the river is owned by all of those who live in Illinois, not just those that live in the river valley. The communities along the river can be viewed as stewards of the river, entrusted by the statewide community to protect such a valuable asset. I firmly believe, and every report I have ever read supports, that when the two Batavia dams are removed it will greatly improve the overall quality of the river in this stretch. I hope that Batavia as a city can take the lead on this role of river steward and see that these improvements to the river become a reality.

Most of you have voted once already to remove the dam. I am hoping that the misinformation and its often shrill delivery will not sway you from that initial vote in spite of the outcome of the referendum.

I guess I'm relying on all of you to help preserve, improve and protect this wonderful resource. Not just for Batavians, but for those of us who don't get to wander it's shores on a daily basis.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Ken Gortowski, Elmhurst