For Prairie Rivers Network supporters in the Chicagoland area, we need you to attend the upcoming public meeting on the Proposed Dam – Modification Project on the East Branch of the DuPage River at Churchill Woods Forest Preserve and let your voice be heard.

Wednesday, May 19, 6 – 8 p.m.

Glen Ellyn Village Hall
535 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Your participation is important!

View flyer here. Read background information here.

For additional information, call Sarah Ruthko at (630) 407-6800

Aurora Paddlefest, July 2009, Aurora, IL

Earlier this week, the proposed Dam Safety Rule that would have effectively closed many well-used Illinois rivers to paddlers was sent back to Illinois Department of Natural Resources by the legislative body that approves state agency rules (see news story). The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules cited concerns raised by the Illinois Paddling Council as the primary reason for rejecting the proposed rule. The Committee has asked DNR to revise the rule, taking a case-by-case approach, rather than the one-size-fits-all proposal for determining safety exclusion zones around dangerous low-head dams on public waterways in Illinois. Prairie Rivers Network will work with the paddling community and the DNR to come up with a workable solution that will protect lives at these dangerous dams while allowing for the safe use of rivers by paddlers.

Congratulations to Illinois Paddling Council and other groups and individuals who carried out this successful campaign!

Our paddling members and friends have set us straight on DNR’s proposed Dam Safety Rule, Rule 3703, now pending before the Illinois General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules). We expressed support for the proposed rule in a post last week. The rule would impose a 350-foot exclusion zone around all dangerous dams in order to protect the public safety and prevent the needless drowning deaths that occur in Illinois rivers nearly every year. (Also see our post on the report evaluating costs of improving safety through removal or modification.) {Continue Reading »}

Recently, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources issued a notice of proposed rules concerning Dam Safety. These rules may affect landowners, businesses, and recreationist along the river; particularly part 3703 of the rules. Part 3703 of the new rules, state that there needs to be mandatory 350′ exclusion Zones around dams. Specifically the “Exclusion Zone” means a segment of the river, beginning 50 feet downstream of a dam and proceeding to a point 300 feet upstream of the dam, that no one is allowed to enter for any purpose, except those purposes exempted by this Part. This zone includes the spillway, gates, piers and other appurtenant dam works that are not designed for the express purpose of general pedestrian access.

These new rules will undoubtedly hinder paddling on many streams, at least for the coming paddling season. And although Prairie Rivers Network feels strongly that people should be able to use and enjoy the river, we also care greatly for everyone’s safety. {Continue Reading »}

The Illinois Dam Safety Report, takes a thorough look at 25 run of river dams on Illinois waterways. A run of river dam is a dam with a height less than 25 feet that spans the width of a river and which during normal flow conditions typically has water flowing over the entire dam. Dams alter wildlife habitat by flooding the stream corridor above the dam and change the natural seasonal fluctuations in water level below. These alterations harm fish and wildlife both above and below the dam.

Not only do dams alter the ecosystem and landscape, but they are also extremely dangerous. Nearly every year in Illinois, people accidentally die because of dams. By getting too close, paddlers, waders, fishermen, and other people enjoying time in their local river can easily get sucked into the current and trapped in the hydraulic effect (boil and backwash) dams create.

Read the full Illinois Dam Safety Report here: Dam safety report part 1 (pdf) and Dam safety report part 2 (pdf).

So please remember, BE ALERT when you are on the river
and stay away from low head dams!

For nearly two decades, PRN has worked to prevent the pollution and degradation of Illinois’ rivers. Water Resources Scientist, Traci Barkley, and Water Resources Specialist, Kim Knowles, review permit applications for wastewater discharges from municipal, mining and industrial practices that have the potential to harm Illinois waterways.

Here is an update on some of their latest work:

Challenged dam proposal for Sangamon County

Summary: A new dam has been proposed for Horse Creek in Sangamon County that will bury over 100 acres of wetlands, 80 acres of streams and more than 1,500 acres of forest. Proponents claim Hunter Dam is needed to create a backup water supply for the City of Springfield, but we believe there are more sustainable and less environmentally harmful ways of ensuring an adequate water supply. {Continue Reading »}