Historical Information
1. Dam Name: Secor Road dam, Ottawa Hills
2. Estimate height of dam in feet - ca. 9 ft. high and 50 ft long
3. Dam Type:
a) earthfill dam
b) concrete arch dam - X
c) gravity dam
d) masonry dam
e) timber cribs
f) other, please explain
The dam had steel bulkheads upstream and downstream of the dam on both banks. The concrete on the upstream side of the dam also had steel backing.
4. Location Description: Immediately West of Secor Road on the Ottawa River (river mile 11.4)
5. Year Constructed: Early 1960s, although the original dam, slightly to the East, was built in the 1920s.
Year Removed: 2007
6. Dam Owner:
a) public - X (Village of Ottawa Hills)
b) private
c) abandoned
a) generate hydropower
b) irrigation
c) domestic water supply
d) navigation
e) flood control
f) recreation - X (originally built to create a pond for boating)
g) industrial water supply
h) unknown
8. What repairs have been done to the dam? - None
9. Reason(s) for Removal:
a) aesthetic enhancement - X
b) fish and wildlife habitat improvement - X
c) cost savings
d) community revitalization
e) public safety hazard - X
f) water quality improvement
g) recreational improvement
h) alternative to dam
10. Project Sponsor (who initiated project): Village of Ottawa Hills (owner) in collaboration with The University of Toledo (Dept. of Environmental Sciences) and Bowling Green State University (Dept. of Geology).
11. Dam Removal Funding Sources:
a) federal -
b) state - X ( Ohio Coastal Management Program for the feasibility study and Ohio Department of Transportation for the actual removal)
c) local governmental agencies
d) other (please explain)
12. Cost of Dam Removal: $ unknown (please contact ODOT)
13. List all Contractors by Name, include Address and Telephone #:
1) Unknown (please contact ODOT)
a) federal - X
c) municipal
a) before removal - X
b) during removal - X
c) after removal - X
a) No problems encountered. A feasibility study was performed to quantify sediment contamination upstream of the dam, and estimate sediment transport and flood heights following removal. The study did not reveal risks to dam removal. The Final Report may be accessed at www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/rap/OttawaRiverDamRemovalFeasibilityStudy_9-2004.pdf
The publication of this study may be found at www.eeescience.utoledo.edu/Faculty/Gottgens/Vita.htm
b) none
c) Nothing unexpected has happened thus far. We are currently monitoring changes in stream cross sections and bank stability.
a) Estimated Reservoir Area in acres - Small to non-existent (filled in with sediment)
b) Composition of river bed (eg. sand, pebbles, boulders, bedrock) - mixed from clays, to silt, sand and coarse gravel or even rock riffles.
c) Types of Fish caught in the river - 24 species with a different community composition above and below the dam (publication is in prep.)
d) Water Quality
i) behind the dam Good____ Fair____ Poor - X
ii) below the dam Good____Fair____ Poor - X
Comments:
18. Were any studies of the river conducted before the dam was removed?
Yes
Studies were done on the structure of the fish community above and below the dam, the fluvial geomorphology of the river above and below the dam, the long-term hydrological impacts of removing the dam, and the contamination level of sediments that had accumulated above the dam. In addition, water quality stations have been monitored throughout the watershed including sites immediately above and below the old dam site
19. Have studies been conducted on the river after the dam was removed to document changes in the river?
Yes
Fluvial geomorphology (in progress) and fish community analyses (in progress).
Fluvial geomorphology: J. Evans (BGSU Department of Geology)
Fish community analysis: J. Gottgens (UT, Department of Environmental Sciences)
ODNR will conduct Index Biotic Integrity (IBIs), Invertebrate Community Index (ICIs) and Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEIs) at five existing OEPA habitat and biological monitoring sites above the dam and below the dam. The frequency of monitoring will be twice a year over the next five years.
ODOT will perform QHEIs every two miles on the main stem of the Sandusky River starting at the first riffle downstream of the dam to the riffle located at the end of the dam impoundment. The frequency will be once a year on the first, third, and fifth monitoring years following the removal of the dam.
ODNR, Division of Geological Survey will survey substrate composition and conduct channel morphology analysis for five years after removal of the dam.
The Ohio State University will conduct unionid mullusk inventories at the riffle below the dam and at one of the OEPA habitat and biological monitoring sites above the dam once every year for five years after the removal of the St. John's Dam.