CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — For more than 100 years, the Gorge Dam has been a landmark inside Gorge Metro Park in Cuyahoga Falls.
But for a few decades, the calls to tear down the 420-foot-wide, 60-foot-tall structure have been growing louder because of environmental concerns and a desire to improve recreational and economic opportunities.
On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine joined other state, federal and local leaders to discuss details of a lengthy plan to dredge that area of the Cuyahoga River, eventually clearing the way to remove the dam.
"This is really, we take today, the first step to let the Cuyahoga River run free," DeWine said.
The plan to bring down the dam creates mixed emotions for Akron North Hill resident Michael Ronca.
"I grew up here. It was part of my life growing up, but I'm glad to see it removed and actually see what's under it," Ronca said.
Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters said he's excited to see the natural falls, which have been covered for more than a century by the dam.
"It's known as the Big Falls. No one alive has ever seen it. It's under the dam," Walters said.
News 5 has covered the push to remove the dam for several years.
In 2022, Summit Metro Parks officials discussed a plan that called for possibly taking down the dam by 2026.
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At that time, Mike Johnson, the chief conservation officer for Summit Metro Parks, said, "The Gorge Dam currently has no benefits. It has no use at all."
The dam was originally built to produce hydroelectricity to power trolleys and as a cooling water source for a coal-fired plant.
But over the years, a large amount of contaminated sediment has caused worry for people, fish and wildlife.
U.S. EPA officials estimate there are 865,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment built up behind the dam. That's equivalent to 11 football fields that are each 10 to 12 feet high, or 260 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Sensitivity about a clean river has lingered for decades because people recall when the river caught on fire in 1969. Several officials referenced that unfortunate time in Northeast Ohio history during the Thursday news event.
"Many people still remember the days when the river was so polluted, it literally caught on fire," said Congresswoman Shontel Brown.
But big changes will be coming to the Crooked River.
Several orange buoys are in the water. Dredging barges will also go into the river with excavators on top of them.
"They'll be scooping out the sediment at the bottom of the dam pool, one-by-one," said Courtney Winter, the project manager for the U.S. EPA. "Large debris will be removed, and then the dredge sediment will be piped into the pipeline. There will be booster pumps along the way. The pipeline itself is stretched across two miles."
The sediment will be transported to Cascade Valley Metro Park, where it will be mixed with concrete and become part of the landscape.
The dredging process is expected to take two years. It's not clear when the dam will be taken down, but DeWine is optimistic for the eventual recreational and economic opportunities.
"You're going to see more kayaking and great opportunities for people to enjoy the river, so we're looking forward to that. I don't have a date though," DeWine said.
Walters, who said he's "been running around the park since he was a kid" believes the changes at Gorge Metro Park will be a boon to Cuyahoga Falls.
"The kayakers tell me that we will have nothing close east of the Misssippi to what we'll have here for the whitewater/kayaking, so we'll be building hotels, restaurants," Walters said.
The estimated cost of the project is around $100 million, with much of the funding coming from state and federal sources.
