Dam Removal and Decommissioning

Dam Removal and Decommissioning

2 PDHs

The Ballville Dam Removal and River Restoration Project is critically important to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.  The removal of the 35-foot high by 420-foot wide concrete structure reconnects more than 22 miles of critical walleye and white bass spawning habitat, restores the state designated scenic river to its natural free flowing form, and improves an important commercial fishery resource to the City of Fremont, Lake Erie, and the Great Lakes Region.  The Ballville Dam was built in 1911 as part of a hydro-electric project.  Generating electricity was deemed impractical in the 1940s and the dam’s impoundment was converted to the City’s raw drinking water intake.  Seasonal fluctuations of nitrates and other pollutants along the Sandusky River, as well as structural and conveyance deficiencies of the dam, led the City to build an off-line up ground drinking water reservoir removing the need for the impoundment.  Stantec worked with the City of Fremont, ODNR, Ohio EPA, USACE, the USFWS, and a number of other local stakeholders to complete the dam removal. Key issues include sediment transport, flood risk changes, environmental and dam safety permitting complexities, and interpersonal and societal challenges.  Elements of the project include a feasibility study, environmental permitting, a NEPA EIS document, design of dam deconstruction and subsequent river restoration elements, and ice control structure design.  The $12M project was delivered using the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) model.

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