The city of Warsaw is following suggestions and financial support from state and federal agencies to dismantle a small dam along the Tippecanoe River near Fox Farm Road northwest of city limits.
State and local officials agree the dam, once used to help ensure ample water for Center Lake and the city, no longer serves any purpose.
The lowhead dam is about 50 feet wide and 4 feet tall and is southwest of where Fox Farm Road and CR 150W connect.
Removal of the dam will reconnect the 104 miles of the upper Tippecanoe watershed to more than 500 miles of stream below the dam, according to a report distributed by the city.
Last week, the Warsaw Board of Works took initial steps toward approving a request from the city’s utility supervisor to accept two grants that will total $80,000 and cover almost all of the cost of the project.
The use of the city’s stormwater utility fund are expected to be “very minimal,” according to a report on the project.
The grant money comes from the Lake and River Enhancement program via the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. The other is from the National Fish Passage Program through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
City Utility Manager Brian Davison said the city was approached by state and federal representatives about the project. They also helped initiate the grant process.
“Basically, IDEM?and Federal Fish (& Wildlife representatives) filled it out and said, ‘Here, sign,’ “ Davison said.
He said the state hopes to have it removed by July.
The change will provide several different environmental benefits. Dr. Nate Bosch, director of the Center For Lakes and Streams at Grace College, applauded the move.
The proposed project coincides with local efforts by the Center to clean up the river and make it more accessible to those wanting to use the river.
Removing the dam will eliminate one of the last few barriers along much of the river. Some kayakers and canoeists who travel that stretch of the river often get out of the water and walk around the obstruction, Bosch said.
“It’s going to be really good from a whole bunch of perspectives,” Bosch said.
Species affected by the dam include four species of state-listed endangered fish, including the Blue Breast Darter, Gilt Darter, Spotted Darter and the Tippecanoe Darter plus six species of federally protected mussels, according to information provided by the city.
The removal will improve natural migration patterns for the fish. “It will be great for the ecosystem there,” he said.
He said the Center plans to do a study before and after looking at the effects on plants and animals.
The dam, along with a diversion channel from the river to Center Lake, was constructed in the 1960s by the city as a way of moving water to the lake. That need ended about a half dozen years after the city constructed a water treatment plant, according to the city report.
