Dam Sign.Indd
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CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION ON THE GLEN D. PALMER DAM FISH LADDER NORTH END OF DAM) The Fish Ladder In Phase I of the project the dam spillway was modifi ed from a roller type to a four-step confi guration and added the Denil fi sh ladder adjacent to the dam’s north abutment to restore fi sh passage at the dam. The Denil style fi sh ladder, as seen in the picture to the left, consists of a con- FOX RIVER crete chute with specialized aluminum baffl es. These unique baffl es located inside the Denil fi sh ladder dissipate enough energy to allow a variety of fi sh that live in the Fox River to burst between the four segments of the fi shway. After each segment, the fi sh have an opportunity to rest before continuing to the next segment of the “ladder.” DAM The Denil fi shway is the fi rst of its kind in Illinois. To date, no other Denil style ladders have been constructed on larger rivers for reconnection purposes. This fi shway, design by HDR/Fishpro of Springfi eld, Illinois, provides native fi sh species in the Fox River an opportunity to move between the tail water below Yorkville Dam and the upper pool upstream of the dam, while leaving the el- evated pool intact. This is a major step in continuing efforts to reconnect ecologically fragmented sections of the Fox River. Opening the Denil fi shway at the Yorkville dam reconnects 41 miles of the Fox River for fi sh migration. The Denil fi sh ladder is capable of drawing water from a lower depth in the pool, reducing stagna- tion in the pool and providing water supply to the north shore of the river during low-fl ow condi- tions. A 3-foot, 11-inch wide by 1-foot deep notch in the spillway crest near the north abutment PEDESTRIAN PATH also supplies additional fl ow to the opposite bank of the Fox River during low-fl ow conditions, and provides attraction fl ow to draw fi sh toward the downstream entrance of the Denil structure. BRIDGE TO OPPOSITE SIDE OF CHUTE CANOE/KAYAK CHUTE PEDESTRIAN PATH RIVERFRONT PARK The Glen D. Palmer Dam Reconstruction Project History of the Glen D. Palmer Dam The Glen Palmer Dam, named after the original manager of the State game farm formerly located in Yorkville, was built in 1960 as part of the Stratton project. The Stratton project (named after Illinois Governor William Stratton) was a plan to make the Fox River navigable for larger pleasure crafts traveling from the Fox Chain of Lakes to the Illinois River by building a series of locks and dams. The dam in Montgomery At one time dams were necessary for businessmen of the late 1800’s. Millwrights would help build dams was also built as part of the Stratton project. Several other Stratton project dams were also proposed to be built in the early 1960s including one near Boulder Hill, just south of the Kane/Kendall county line. The and mills, and a town would slowly develop around this center of business. Millwright John Schneider Boulder Hill dam project was set to move forward, but objections from concerned citizens put a halt to its construction and to the Stratton project overall. The Glen Palmer and Montgomery dams remain as part helped Capt. Joseph Naper build his mill on the DuPage River, the beginning of Naperville. In 1834, of the original project that was never completed. Schneider moved west to the mouth of Blackberry Creek on the Fox River and built his own dam and sawmill. In 1837, Schneider sold his dam and mill to Lyman Bristol and Isaac Hallard. It was Lyman In May of 1976, the Mayor of Yorkville wrote to the Offi ce of Water Resources (OWR) requesting a site review because of drownings at the dam. In an attempt to remedy the situation in 1978, the OWR under Bristol who donated the land for the Village of Bristol, now incorporated into the United City of FR-295 placed riprap, or large rocks, in the scour hole downstream of the dam. The riprap inside the scour hole had an equivalent diameter of up to 2 ft. It was thought that by placing the riprap it would reduce Yorkville. the scour hole and the effect of the roller formed from the water fl owing over the top of the dam, thus reducing the potential for drowning. This contract work was performed between October 11, 1977 and July 7, 1978 and temporarily eliminated the roller as the next drowning was not until 1984. In 1991, a survey of the spillway clearly showed that the riprap had since been scoured out by the plunging waters and a In 1845 Titus Howe placed another dam across the Fox River in Yorkville. The dam and millrace powered new scour hole had developed. In October of 1993 the Yorkville police department contacted the OWR to again request assistance. several businesses, and up in Montgomery, Daniel Gray used the same technique to provide water power for a grist mill, a reaper factory, and a sash and wooden blind factory from one dam. On average, the river The City of Yorkville, through prior resolution, had strongly urged the IDNR “to preserve the existing Glen Palmer Dam in the United City of Yorkville, while making such enhancements that will protect persons drops 3.6 feet per mile, making the river have a constant and consistent fl ow allowing the river to be a from harm and create an ecologically safe passageway for fi sh and water craft to move both upstream and downstream of the dam without harm to the environment”. good source of industrial power. Reconstruction of the dam has been the top priority of the IDNR on the Fox River since 2004. Since that time, the department has worked with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the U.S There are 14 dams in the Fox River from its northernmost point in Illinois to its end where it Army Corps of Engineers to get necessary permit approval for the project. The dam was rebuilt to improve public safety and improve environmental and recreational benefi ts. empties into the Illinois River. The Yorkville Dam Modifi cation Project, which began on June 9, 2006, included the construction of a four-stepped spillway at the downstream side of the existing concrete overfl ow spillway, and the construction of a bypass channel along the south abutment and shoreline of the river at the dam. Phase II of the Glen D. Palmer Dam reconstruction project began this summer to install a canoe and kayak chute. .