Posted August 8, 200519 yr From the 8/8/05 Akron Beacon Journal: PHOTO: Elaine Marsh, shown here at Gorge Metro Park in Cuyahoga Falls, helped start Friends of the Crooked River, a group dedicated to improving the Cuyahoga River. Ken Love / Akron Beacon Journal River activist fights current of inaction Vocal advocate pushes Akron officials to make Cuyahoga clean, safe By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer She is pushy and persistent -- a scrapper who is not afraid to fight, knowledgeable yet reasonable, but not an extremist. She is Elaine Marsh, a founder and chief mouthpiece of the Friends of the Crooked River, a 15-year-old, 100-member grass-roots environmental group devoted to the salvation of the Cuyahoga River. More at http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/12329373.htm
September 17, 200519 yr A somewhat related article from the 9/14/05 Akron Beacon Journal: PHOTO: Water cascades over rocks on the Cuyahoga River in Munroe Falls. Summit County will present a revised dam plan tonight. Paul Tople / Akron Beacon Journal Natural waterfall could be restored Dam on Cuyahoga River in Munroe Falls might be removed, not lowered By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer The dam on the Cuyahoga River in Munroe Falls may be removed, not lowered, in order to restore a long-forgotten waterfall. The waterfall had been buried under the sandstone blocks that Summit County has begun removing in an effort to improve water quality in the river. More at http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12640086.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news
September 26, 200519 yr From the 9/22/05 Akron Beacon Journal: Munroe Falls dam to stand, but shorter City Council doesn't OK removal; lowering is likely to go forward By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer The dam on the Cuyahoga River in Munroe Falls apparently will be lowered but will not be removed. That scenario emerged after the Munroe Falls City Council late Tuesday failed to get enough votes to allow Summit County to alter plans and remove the dam instead of lowering it. More at http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12710436.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news
October 2, 200519 yr From the 9/29/05 Akron Beacon Journal: Dam will be removed Munroe Falls City Council reverses earlier vote that only would allow structure to be lowered By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer The on-again, off-again project to remove a dam on the Cuyahoga River has changed again. The dam will be removed, not just lowered. That decision came late Tuesday in a vote by the Munroe Falls City Council. The council reversed an earlier vote that would have allowed only the city-owned dam to be lowered. The news of the council's charge of heart delighted environmentalists like Elaine Marsh, a spokeswoman for the Friends of the Crooked River, an eco-group devoted to the Cuyahoga and its tributaries. The dam was 11 ½ feet high before the Kenmore Construction Co. of Akron began lowering the dam and its sandstone blocks to 5 ½ feet under a $1.7 million contract. The discovery of a natural ledge and waterfall led the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to suggest that the 144-foot dam be removed. The change required approval by Munroe Falls City Council and Mayor Frank Larson. By electing to remove the dam, the city will get a minimum of $250,000 for a river-related project. The money will come from a pollution fine of $500,000 paid by Summit County. Summit County and Munroe Falls went through extensive debate late last year and early this year before the dam lowering won city approval. Summit County has a major stake in the project because its Fishcreek sewage plant empties into the Cuyahoga River. Lowering or removing the Munroe Falls dam and modifying the dam in Kent are expected to improve the Cuyahoga's water quality. The river already has been rerouted around the Kent dam in a $3.8 million project. The EPA wants the two dams changed to reduce stagnant pools, improve the water's flow and increase dissolved oxygen and fish and insect populations. Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or [email protected] http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12770256.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news
November 8, 200519 yr From the 11/7/05 Akron Beacon Journal: River's recovery will take awhile Fish, insects, vegetation on exposed banks may improve in year or two By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer MUNROE FALLS - The 144-foot-wide dam of sandstone blocks is largely gone, and the newly shaped Cuyahoga River now gently tumbles over a rocky ledge. The channel behind the 11 ½-foot-high dam's old location is much narrower -- with bare dirt on both banks extending two miles upstream toward Middlebury Road in Kent. Now it is up to Mother Nature to do her part to help the stream, now only 40 feet wide, and its banks rebound. The dam removal work is continuing, but the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's two experts on the Cuyahoga River are thrilled with what's happening. "It's gone even better than we had thought or hoped,'' said the EPA's Steve Tuckerman. It appears that it may take a year or two for the Cuyahoga River to fully recover with increased fish and insect populations in Munroe Falls, said Bill Zawiski of the EPA. The Cuyahoga River will probably recover more slowly here than it did in Kent after a dam there was altered in early 2004 to create a natural-flowing stream, he said. In Kent, the fish and insect populations that the EPA uses to determine water quality improved significantly within six months of the dam work. Last week, workers from Akron's Kenmore Construction Co. had a shovel in the river and a bulldozer was grading the southern bank. Grass and straw were being spread near the old dam site. A section of the dam's foundation was still in the river along the north shore, but it will be removed soon under the $1.7 million contract between Summit County and the company. Sandstone blocks from the dam were being stockpiled off North Main Street (state Route 91) just south of the river. A number of the old blocks were fragile and broke during the removal. One block -- about 2 ½ feet by 2 ½ feet by 5 feet -- carried an inscription: H. Winfield Contractor, 1902. The old sandstone blocks will be used to create a new park amphitheater in a bowl on the north shore of the Cuyahoga River near the old dam site east of Brust Park. Zawiski said officials were especially pleased with the natural, gentle slope on the bare banks that had previously been underwater behind the dam. The fear was that the banks would be more vertical and prone to eroding, but that is not a big problem, he said. Some of the exposed areas are "still spongy... and soupy,'' but the plan is to to allow vegetation to return naturally, Zawiski said. He said a six-party committee -- from Summit County, the city of Munroe Falls, the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District, the Akron-based Northeast Ohio Four County Planning and Development Organization, the Ohio EPA and Metro Parks, Serving Summit County -- is likely to take a close look next spring at the vegetation growing on the banks. That team has money remaining from a $500,000 state grant for bank stabilization and plantings, Zawiski said. Summit County and the city of Kent have major stakes in the project because of sewage plants that empty into the Cuyahoga River. Removing the Munroe Falls dam and modifying the dam in Kent are expected to improve the Cuyahoga's water quality. The EPA wants the two dams changed to reduce stagnant pools, improve the water's flow and increase dissolved oxygen and fish and insect populations. Summit County and Kent would have faced costly bills for sewer plant improvements if the dams had not been altered. Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or [email protected] http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/13102149.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news
December 3, 200519 yr A related story from the 11/30/05 Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Valley dam's future debated Meeting tonight will discuss options that benefit river, supply water to canal By Bob Downing Beacon Journal staff writer The future of the 14-foot-high dam on the Cuyahoga River in the Cuyahoga Valley will be discussed from 6 to 8 tonight. A dam meeting, sponsored by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, will be at the Happy Days Visitor Center off state Route 303 in Boston Heights in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. More at http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/13290352.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news
January 1, 200619 yr Dam removal called key to Cuyahoga's recovery Barrier at Brecksville may be next to go Sunday, January 01, 2006 John C. Kuehner Plain Dealer Reporte r For most of its life, the Cuyahoga River ran wild, leaping over waterfalls, gushing down shale ledges and dancing around rocks. We could witness a free-running Cuyahoga again. More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/113610807979671.xml&coll=2 © 2006 The Plain Dealer © 2006 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.
January 24, 200619 yr From the Stow Sentry: Dam’s north abutment alternate plan to go to City Council by Kristin Casale Reporter Munroe Falls - Summit County is one step closer to being able to consider rebuilding the Munroe Falls Dam’s north abutment with concrete, following the Planning Commission’s approval of the plan Wednesday. The Planning Commission voted 4-1 to allow Summit County to consider using architectural concrete, instead of dam blocks, to rebuild the dam’s sandstone north abutment, which anchored the structure to the Cuyahoga River’s stream bank. Planning Commission Chairman Mark Ferguson voted “no.” More at http://www.stowsentry.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles//news/&file=_news8.txt&article=1&tD=
February 28, 200619 yr From the Stow Sentry: Council OKs rebuilding of Munroe Falls dam structure by Kristin Casale Reporter Munroe Falls - When the Munroe Falls Dam’s north abutment is rebuilt, residents could see a structure made of concrete or dam blocks. During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Council unanimously approved legislation allowing Summit County to rebuild the abutment, which once anchored the dam to the Cuyahoga River’s stream bank, using architectural concrete or dam blocks. The total cost of the construction phase of the project is approximately $1.68 million. More at http://www.stowsentry.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles//news/&file=_news7.txt&article=1&tD=
March 2, 200619 yr Hydroelectric project has upstream battle Thursday, March 02, 2006 John C. Kuehner Plain Dealer Reporter Environmentalists usually are the ones promoting green energy. But they are fighting, not supporting, a proposed hydroelectric project on the Cuyahoga River in Cuyahoga Falls. A coalition of river and park supporters wants to stop plans to build a powerhouse in Gorge Metro Park to generate electricity. More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/summit/1141292380138340.xml&coll=2
April 12, 200619 yr From the Stow Sentry: Dam construction expected to be completed in July by Kristin Casale Reporter Munroe Falls - Summit County officials say residents can look forward to the completion of the Munroe Falls Dam Project’s construction phase in July, when the north abutment and amphitheater will be finished. According to Tim Gott, project engineer for the Summit County Department of Environmental Services, contractors began work on the north abutment last month. The abutment, which anchored the dam to the Cuyahoga River bank, is being rebuilt with architectural concrete to show the dam once was in place. More at http://www.stowsentry.com/article.php?pathToFile=/articles//news/&file=_news91.txt&article=1&tD=
November 27, 200618 yr From the 11/2/06 Stow Sentry: Dam project progress cause for celebration by Kristin Casale Reporter Munroe Falls - Despite periodic rain and chilly temperatures, approximately 50 people turned out to celebrate the restoration of the Cuyahoga River during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 27. Sponsored by Summit County, the ceremony included remarks from Munroe Falls Mayor Frank Larson and Summit County Executive James McCarthy, a tree planting to commemorate the approaching completion of the Munroe Falls Dam Project and music from members of the Stow-Munroe Falls High School Marching Band to mark the occasion. Summit County removed the dam last fall as part of a $2.68 million project designed to improve the water quality of the river. More at http://www.stowsentry.com/article.php?pathToFile=/archive/11022006/news/&file=_news3.txt&article=1&tD=11022006
April 10, 200718 yr From the 2/25/07 Tallmadge Express: City, county officials sparring over dam project February 25, 2007 by Kristin Casale Reporter Munroe Falls -- County and city officials say they want the final part of the Munroe Falls Dam project completed. However, both parties claim the other side is delaying the matter. The county removed the dam in 2005 in an effort to restore the quality of the Cuyahoga River. The state of Ohio required the county to perform the project after the county's Fishcreek sewage treatment plant was cited as a contributing factor in the deterioration of the river. More at http://www.tallmadgeexpress.com/news/article/1641482
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