Conversations surrounding the Kimball Street dam in Elgin have centered on what happens if it’s removed, but officials want to know what happens if it remains.
Collins Engineers Inc. has been hired to do an analysis of the Fox River structure to determine how much future maintenance, repairs and eventual replacement will cost.
“This agreement will analyze the expected implication from a maintenance and cost perspective over the dam’s life cycle should the Kimball Street dam remain in service,” City Manager Rick Kozal said.
The Elgin City Council voted 7-1 last week to approve the $93,500 contract. Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger cast the lone negative vote.
“I’m not going to support this,” Rauschenberger said at the meeting. “I feel like we are putting more money into this analysis that could go toward moving our intake (system) and having a clean river. I feel like the costs are getting so high here.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Fox River Connectivity and Habitat Study recommended the nine dams along the Fox River, including the one at Kimball Street, be removed to return the river’s natural flow and improve it as a habitat for fish, mussels and wildlife.
However, Elgin is the only community that uses the river as a drinking water source. If it’s removed, the dam’s upstream pool will be reduced and with it the depth of water needed to operate the Leo Nelson Riverside Water Treatment Plant water intake system.
Public Services Director Mike Pubentz said the city has completed or initiated several studies to determine the impacts and costs associated with removing the dam. The studies include a review of the Army Corps.’ report, an analysis of the riverbed’s soil borings at the Lincoln-Lovell saddle, and a review of the feasibity and cost of relocating the water intake location.
Elgin has spent an estimated $309,700 on those reports.
What the city aims to determine with the new study is how long the dam might exist in its current state and how much the city might have to pay to maintain or eventually replace it in the future.
Elgin took ownership of the dam in the 1980s and has been responsible for its maintenance and operation since then, Pubentz said.
Inspections are done annually in three-year cycles that consist of one major inspection followed by two minor inspections, Pubentz said. The major inspection includes the use of underwater dive teams to inspect the submerged portions of the dam. The underwater inspections are required by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, he said.
The dam was last completely replaced in 1882, according to published reports. Pubentz said the last large-scale repair project took place in 1999, when the city completed a dam rehabilitation project for $1.2 million.
Collins Engineers’ study will look at the annual inspections, develop a timeline of how long the current structure will last, create an estimated timeframe for an eventual dam replacement, and provide cost estimates for maintenance and replacement.
Their findings are to be presented to the city council in August.
If the decision is made to remove the dam, the Army Corps will pay for the work. The city can reject the removal recommendation but must make a final decision by next spring.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
