{"id":53332,"date":"2026-10-31T11:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=53332"},"modified":"2026-10-31T11:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:31:00","slug":"emrichsville-dam-removal-white-river-indianapolis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/emrichsville-dam-removal-white-river-indianapolis\/53332\/","title":{"rendered":"Indianapolis built the Emrichsville Dam on the White River in 1899 so Riverside Park could have a boating lake, and 127 years and several drownings later, crews are tearing it out so fish can move up and down the river again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 1899, Indianapolis wanted a boating lake for Riverside Park, so the city built a low-head dam across the West Fork of the White River to back up the water. Now, 127 years and several drownings later, crews are tearing the Emrichsville Dam out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dam stands just south of the 16th Street bridge, alongside the park. Crews with heavy equipment are working from the south bank, crossing the river on a temporary causeway, and by late October they were breaking up the dam\u2019s concrete from its north end toward the south, according to the city\u2019s weekly project updates<\/a>. The city expects to wrap up the work in the river itself by December 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason the dam was built \u201cdoes not provide a benefit or apparent need anymore,\u201d says Gavin Merriman, design manager at the city\u2019s Department of Public Works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, it has blocked fish migrations for more than a century, and it\u2019s been linked to several drownings. The most recent victims were two kayakers who died in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emrichsville was never meant to hold back floods or supply water. Its job was to raise the river and create a lake where people could go boating. Building it cost about $40,000 at the time, which works out to more than $1.3 million today, according to IndyStar<\/a>. Over the years, that stretch of water drew boaters and, later, water-skiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vintage
A vintage postcard shows the 30th Street Bridge over the White River in Riverside Park, part of the stretch of river the dam was built to raise for boating. Postcard: Indianapolis Public Library via Digital Public Library of America \/ Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Public Works is in charge of the removal. In 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u2019s National Fish Passage Program awarded the project a $750,000 grant, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy are backing it as well. All told, the grants come to about $875,000, IndyStar reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crews will take out the weir, the concrete apron and the stilling basin. They\u2019ll also clear the rock that was dumped into the breach (the hole left when part of the dam collapsed in October 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some pieces will stay put. After consultation with historic preservation agencies, the north turret tower and its limestone wall will remain, along with what\u2019s left of the south tower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n