Alum Creek Lowhead Dam Removal Improves Environment
By: David Roseman, FACT Board Member and Communications Chair
After more than three years of hard work, the Friends of Alum Creek & Tributaries (FACT) watershed organization in central Ohio was successful in having two lowhead dams on Alum Creek removed. In October, the first lowhead dam between Academy Park and Wolfe Park in Columbus was removed and in November, the second dam was removed between Nelson Park and Bexley, in Bexley. The two lowhead dams were removed primarily to improve the ecosystem. The removal of these dams also help prevent drowning hazards and other safety issues, restore the stream to a more natural condition and increase recreational access.
The Wolfe-Academy Park Low-head Dam in Columbus on Alum Creek was removed in October to improve the water quality and restore the watershed.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted studies in 1996 and 2000 and found that areas of Alum Creek near Columbus and Bexley did not meet water quality specifications. One reason for the poor water quality is because the water current slows down behind the dams and organic material in the water settles to the river bottom and decays, resulting in sharp reductions in dissolved oxygen in the stream. These stagnant areas also produced an unnatural build-up of silt and sediment which created muddy, murky conditions, making it difficult for fish, microinvertebrates and other aquatic life to thrive.
In addition to environmental problems, there were many safety issues surrounding these dams. Immediately below the lowhead dams, fast currents produced a dangerous vortex which contributed to several deaths on Alum Creek. Once a person gets stuck in the undertow, it is virtually impossible to get out. These lowhead dams were built around the 1930’s to create small ponds for recreation. They were not designed to control floodwaters.
As part of the final phase of the three-year $250,000 U.S. EPA Nonpoint Source Implementation grant project administered by Ohio EPA, FACT volunteers worked along the Alum Creek corridor to restore the natural greenery by removing hundreds of honeysuckle bushes and other invasive species and planting new native trees, shrubs and vegetation.
FACT held an on-site celebration of the removal of the dams at Academy Park in Columbus. Guest speakers included Russ Gibson, Ohio EPA’s Nonpoint Source manager, Columbus City Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson and Alan McKnight, director of Columbus Recreation and Parks.
Columbus City Council honored FACT in November with a city resolution recognizing their environmental stewardship and complimenting the continued volunteer work. Tyson had a feature story about FACT’s project in her quarterly “Tyson Corner” fall newsletter. The cities of Columbus and Bexley and the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission have supported FACT’s project with in-kind assistance.
For more information, contact FACT at 614-409-0511 or visit www.friendsofalumcreek.org for specific background information and materials about FACT’s dam removals and watershed restoration projects.