Small dam on Des Plaines River north of River Forest will be history by mid-October

Click here to see a map of the dam.

Armitage Dam, which is located just north of River Forest on the Des Plaines River, is slated to be fully removed by mid-October. That change in the river should increase the overall health of the river, as well as increase the number of fish downstream from the dam.

"There will be [an] ecological benefit," said Jeff Zuercher, the project manager from the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the removal project.

Zuercher said the dam is so small that residents won't notice much of a distraction during removal, and the impact won't be great enough to affect flooding in River Forest. But the removal of the dam should give a boost to recreational fishing. "That's kind of one of our hopes," Zuercher said. "There should be an increase in some fish species."

Zuercher said the project began early this month and if the weather cooperates, should be completed by next month.

There won't be any negative affect on the village, but Zuercher said the dam is simply no longer necessary. "This dam is a very small dam. It's not one that has a big impact on the river," he said. "It's really more of an ecological restoration project."

View Armitage Dam in a larger map