Recreation as the solution

On a stretch of the Fox River where controversy once reigned, the State of Illinois stepped in and delivered a compromise that is receiving rave reviews from all sides - and an especially enthusiastic endorsement from the Midwest paddling community.

Faced with the challenge to improve public safety at the notorious Glen D. Palmer dam in Yorkville, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources used a little creative thinking to remediate a killer dam and turn it into the state's first whitewater park.

The 1,100-foot long dual bypass channel - 550 feet above and below the dam - is a winning solution that will improve the health, flow and safety of the river while converting the area into a haven for recreation and tourism.

Already, the churning wave train of Class I-II rapids has attracted paddlers and onlookers from near and far, and the buzz has only just begun.

"The Yorkville Whitewater Park is one of the most significant developments in Illinois paddling history," said Tom Lindblade, president of the Illinois Paddling Council (IPC), whose members assisted with the implementation and testing of the channel. "This new recreational destination also serves as a model for similar facilities in nearby Illinois cities like Aurora, Montgomery and Rockford where opportunities exist."

The bypass channel is a whitewater playground for canoes, kayaks, rafters and tubers, appealing to novice and experienced users alike. Upon entering the channel, the flow has been engineered to guide the paddler's momentum toward the easiest route. Experienced paddlers will be able to navigate their way to more challenging runs and maneuver through a pair of exhilarating whitewater features, one above the dam and one below.

Strategically placed pools through the center of the course provide respite for capsized paddlers to recover, safeguarded from the current while remaining out of harm's way and other paddlers.

All the action taking place in the channel is a magnet for spectators as well. A 12-foot wide concrete sidewalk that parallels the course and allows paddlers to walk their boats back to the top also provides the equivalent of front-row seats with an up-close vantage point. And, in the coming months, a pedestrian bridge will be constructed over the channel that will put spectators on top of the action.

Lindblade has been touting the teaching possibilities since first seeing the plans two years ago, predicting that the Yorkville facility will become one of the finest teaching venues in the country. His opinion has been endorsed by former Olympic whitewater champion and coach Kent Ford who told a gathering of instructors in April that the course was the best whitewater teaching site he has seen.

"That is no small praise coming from somebody who has taught throughout the U.S. and in 28 countries around the world," Lindblade said.

While there are other Midwest whitewater parks in Wausau, Wisconsin, and South Bend, Indiana, the Yorkville site will accommodate the vast Chicago market. Also, unlike the others, it's open all day, every day throughout the year and is free of charge.

The prospect of an economic boost has local officials giddy with anticipation. Even in the months before the park's official opening last month, boat-laden vehicles were arriving regularly, filled with boaters and friends spending money in Yorkville and contributing to state coffers through sales taxes. The economic ball started gaining momentum last winter when Geneva Kayak moved its operations 20 miles downriver to Yorkville and opened its new shop in April.

The whitewater course is just one of a series of improvements to this popular area at Yorkville's Bicentennial Riverfront Park. The low-head dam that caused 16 deaths over the years has been modified by the construction of four descending concrete steps that extend the spillway 25 feet into rip rap, thus eliminating the deadly hydraulic roll effect.

While upriver landowners are pleased that the slackwater pool remained intact for pleasure boating, the new bypass channel will contribute greatly to improving the river's health, flow and fish habitat. Not only will fish be able to navigate upstream via the channel - with pools and boulders as resting points - but a Denil fish ladder was also installed. The three-foot wide concrete channel is built with a series of chambers that provide resting points that encourage fish to journey upstream.

Gary Mechanic, past president of the IPC, says whitewater parks are the wave of the future in towns where low-head dams are a contentious issue. With all their positive attributes - and virtually no drawbacks - whitewater parks are the "ideal solution; even better than total dam removal," Mechanic said.

"Whitewater parks remediate the hazard a low-head dam presents while reconnecting the river biologically," said Mechanic, whose visionary view features a whitewater water trail that would connect Yorkville to the upstream cities of Aurora and Montgomery on the Fox River.

"By modifying the dam instead of removing it, you eliminate major costs, controversy and red tape. A whitewater park becomes a recreational anchor in the community and a driver for economic development."

Yorkville is soon to become the latest example of how a series of chutes, pools, eddies and drops can transform treachery into treasure.

Jeff Long is an adrenalin-addled thrill seeker who resides in Naperville, Illinois, and enjoys kayaking, bicycling and cross-country skiing whenever his kids' sports schedules allow.