This brief is adapted from notes taken by Documenter Jason D’Angelo, who covered the Emrichsville Dam community education meeting. 📝 Listen to the meeting.
A federal fish passage grant will fund the removal of a dam on the White River, making it safer for people and wildlife.
What is the Emrichsville Dam?
The Emrichsville Dam is a 250-foot-long, 8-foot-tall dam located on the White River near Belmont Beach in Haughville.
Built in 1899, the dam partially collapsed in 2018. Three people have drowned since.
What changes are coming?
In 2024, the Indianapolis Department of Public Works received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the National Fish Passage Program. The program funds projects that restore fish movement in rivers. Removing the dam will improve fish diversity, water quality and the river’s recreational safety.
Jerry Sweeten, senior ecologist at EcoSystems Connections Institute, said about 85% of Indiana’s 200 fish species need to make the passage up and downstream to survive. The dam blocks movement.
Ecologists from the EcoSystems Connections Institute have monitored the effects of dam removals across the U.S. and found no harmful effects from previous removals.
“The bottom line is, we never found anything in our research that would suggest that removing a dam is harmful to the stream. There are only good things happening to the stream,” said Sweeten.
What’s next?
Later this year, after the dam is removed, the river may shift or deepen. It will take up to a year for ecologists and developers to see how the river resettles.
Dam removal updates will be tracked by Mapping Purpose, LLC.
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