Warren, Ohio, a small city located in northeast Ohio, is currently at the center of a massive project striving to improve poor environmental conditions, specifically water quality, in Eastern Ohio. The Water Works Dam removal project is part of a greater project called the Mahoning River Corridor Revitalization Plan, developed by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. This project’s mission includes ecological improvements, restoration efforts, expanding recreational amenities, and enhancing economic development opportunities regionally and within communities according to the Limited Environmental Review of the Water Works Dam Project. Before finalizing the plan in 2021, Eastgate engaged with numerous townships and communities along the river via outreach and meetings to make certain that community members’ voices were heard throughout the project’s development. The Mahoning River Corridor Revitalization Plan identified and located nine low-head dams along the Mahoning as priority dams for removal. Of the nine, the Water Works dam, located in central Warren, is the fifth dam scheduled to be removed.
There are various reasons why these dams along the Mahoning are in urgent need of deconstruction. First, many of these dams were initially built to power the steel mills and industry that had once heavily occupied Warren during the early and mid-20th century. These dams restricted the river of its natural, free-flowing currents and created lake-like conditions that disrupted fish migration, worsened water quality and water contamination, and decreased biological diversity which requires cleaner and healthier aquatic habitats. Second, once the dams are removed and the river’s conditions begin improving, the Mahoning River Corridor Revitalization plan includes support for the formation of community well-being establishments. Such establishments include commercial and recreational districts as well as pedestrian trails, and these establishments will be built with the goal of fostering healthier relationships between community members and the river. Resources and descriptions of potential support systems for the development of these establishments have already been organized by Eastgate and can be found on their website.
The Water Works dam is scheduled to be removed by December 2023 with the total cost of the removal expected to be $3,225,500. As the Limited Environmental Review states, the project is to be funded by the Ohio EPA through its Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP) and the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. To learn more about the Warren Water Works Dam removal or the Mahoning River Corridor Revitalization Plan, visit the Eastgate Council of Governments website or the Mahoning River Corridor Revitalization project website.
By Ha Min Jeong, Fair Shake Community Democracy Program Intern
