Dams are a big part of a lot of rivers and water sources throughout the country. To some they would appear to just be a part of the way rivers work. While dams can have some positive attributes and cause for why they were built, the negatives seem offset those positives. Some of those negatives include dams prevent fish from being able to swim upstream which has negative effects on the overall ecosystem of the river. Dams also slow down the water which can affect the way sediment is moved throughout the river.

In 2009 The Plain Dealer reported on the Brecksville Dam. The dam was one that various members of the community were trying to get removed. This dam is particularly interesting because of the adverse effects it was having on the water and health of the river but also for one of the reasons it was created in the first place. This dam was built in part to provide an 8 mile canal with water. Dam removal is not an easy thing to accomplish in the first place. There’s many legal proceedings and measures that need to be taken before a dam can get the okay to be removed. Removing a dam is a time consuming and costly project as well.

The Plain Dealer reported on the Brecksville dam 10 years later in 2019. It was in this report that the contract was finally awarded to remove the dam. The process of this dam removal was actually initiated in 2003 which means it almost took 20 years for the dam to actually be approved to be removed. This is what makes it so difficult to bring change to the river. It’s hard to get through all the legalities to be able to remove a dam to improve the overall quality of the river. There will be a new canal pump system implemented to fix the concern with that issue. The project is said to cost around 1.5 million dollars. The high cost of the project is why the legal side of getting a dam removed can be quite the obstacle. The removal of this dam leaves only one notable dam to be removed however, that being the Gorge Dam.