Removal of the Will County Forest Preserve Hammel Woods Dam
Photo courtesy from the Will County Forest Preserve
On Thursday, April 11, The Forest Preserve’s Board of Commissioners voted to remove the Hammel Woods dam in Shorewood. They voted to approve a contract with WBK Engineering and a memorandum of understanding with the Lower DuPage River Watershed Coalition, according to the Forest Preserve.
The Hammel Woods dam was built in the 1930s by Civilian Conservation Corps workers according to the Will County Forest Preserve. The dam was built to create a pool of water for recreational purposes during a time when the DuPage River had a much lower volume of water than it does now.
In 2017, the Coalition paid for a study of the positive and negatives of modifying or removing the Hammel Woods dam. Dam removal was recommended but the amount for funding was not yet available to move forward with the plan.
The estimated cost for removal of the dam is $585,000. In February 2019, the City of Naperville received a new wastewater discharge permit from the EPA and as part of that process, it had to pay fees to the coalition for river-related enhancements. That money was earmarked for the Hammel Woods dam removal.
On March 31, there was an accident that occurred with a 28-year-old man and 22-year-old woman that drowned at the dam. After the accident occurred the residents of the Village of Shorewood, Illinois and surrounding areas created an online petition on Change.org to present to the Forest Preserve District of Will County and the Village of Shorewood Government for the removal of the Hammel Woods dam. Many of the residents agree that the dam is dangerous since there have been other accidents that occurred.
In the press release by the Will County Forest Preserve stated that the removal of the dam would improve the river’s ecology and water quality. It also would return the river to its natural state, and eliminate the need for paddlers to portage around the site, creating a safer and healthier river for everyone.
Andrew Hawkins, the Forest Preserve’s director of planning and development stated, “Now, people seem to recognize the environmental, health and safety benefits of removing the dam.”
