Long-term Effects of a Dam Removal
Ann Arbor, MI — A researcher from Bowling Green State University has completed a 12-year follow-up study to the effects of the 1994 failure of the IVEX Dam on the Chagrin River (northeastern Ohio). The study documents long-term changes that occur as a river adjusts to the removal of a dam.
There are presently 632 dams in northern Ohio on tributary streams flowing into Lake Erie. Because many of these dams are aging and would require extensive repairs to maintain public safety, there is a growing trend to remove old dams that do not fulfill a useful purpose today.
If dams are not maintained, they can fail during a flood event. This is what happened in 1994 to the IVEX Dam, which was breached and released over 10 million gallons of water and sediment within a few minutes.
The study used surveying and sediment coring over a 12-year period to document ways the river responded to removal of the dam. The initial response was the release of mud-sized material from the former reservoir, as the Chagrin River re-established its channel. However the major effect occurred over a period of years, as the new channel stabilized, and as sand and gravel began to move downstream of the former dam site.
The study presents a modified model that can be used to anticipate the long-term changes that will occur after a dam is removed.
Original Publication Information
Results of this study "Sediment Impacts of the 1994 Failure of IVEX Dam (Chagrin River, NE Ohio): A Test of Channel Evolution Models," are reported by James E. Evans in the latest issue (Volume 33, SI2, pp. 90-102) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2007.
Contacts
For more information about the study, contact James E. Evans, Department of Geology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403; evansje@bgsu.edu, (419) 372-2414.
For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; jglr@ec.gc.ca; (306) 975-5310.
Links
Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.