{"id":11260,"date":"2021-11-15T08:57:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T13:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=11260"},"modified":"2021-11-15T09:19:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-15T14:19:00","slug":"local-dam-removal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/local-dam-removal\/","title":{"rendered":"Earlham scientists collaborate with city to assess risks of local dam removal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Earlham research team collects a sediment core at the Weir Dam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Breaching Richmond\u2019s Weir Dam should not release significant contamination into the Whitewater River, according to a new study by researchers at Earlham College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A team from Earlham\u2019s Earth and Environmental Science Department collaborated with the City of Richmond Sanitary District on a pre-dam removal study to determine if there are potentially harmful levels of contamination present in the sediment trapped behind the Weir Dam. The City of Richmond recently received grants from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the dam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using high-tech satellite navigation equipment, Earlham students and faculty surveyed the river channel up and downstream of the century-old dam. The team also collected sediment cores to characterize the amount and nature of the material accumulated behind the dam.  Sediment samples analyzed by an independent lab contained trace amounts of metals and hydrocarbons, but no pesticides or PCBs were detected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sediment accumulated behind the dam is a record of the industrial history of the Whitewater Gorge,\u201d said Andy Moore, a professor of earth and environmental science at Earlham. \u201cWhile we cannot guarantee there isn\u2019t any contamination, the concentrations measured were much lower than any of us anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore and Shannon Hayes, an Indiana licensed professional geologist and geology curator at Earlham, began the project last summer with students Garris Radloff, Amelia Richardson and Katherine Liu. Their work was part of Earlham\u2019s Summer Collaborative Research program and funded by an anonymous donor, the Earlham College Stephen and Sylvia Tregidga Burges Endowed Research Fund and the Borman Family Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is an excellent opportunity for Earlham students to gain experience working on real-world problems while providing a valuable service to the city,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goals were to assess the levels of contamination stored behind the dam and provide baseline data to assess changes in the river after the dam is breached,\u201d she said. \u201cOur research will continue after the dam is removed as we track sediment migration and monitor the river\u2019s recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weir Dam was built to divert cooling water to a city-owned manufactured natural gas plant which no longer exists. City officials say removing the dam will open the river to fish passage, improve safety, and provide opportunities to redevelop the area for recreation. They plan to remove the dam in late summer 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAndy and Shannon have a lot of real-world experience connected to every single aspect of the work that we did,\u201d said Katherine Liu, a junior geology major from Madison, Wisconsin, who is participating in her first student-faculty research project on campus. \u201cNow I\u2019m considering this kind of work as a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dam is now over 100 years old,\u201d Liu said. \u201cI really hope to witness the removal of the dam before graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is Richardson\u2019s second opportunity to use high-tech surveying equipment available in Earlham\u2019s inventory. The senior geology major from the San Francisco Bay Area was a participant in a pilot program on campus that was sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The project resulted in the creation of high-resolution topography maps of Miller Farm, Earlham\u2019s experiential agricultural program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsing these tools in a real-life research setting \u2014 we\u2019re creating a profile of the river bed \u2014 has been really valuable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the research team expect to complete their research this fall and present their findings at the Geological Society of America\u2019s upcoming conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy academic interests are in water quality so I\u2019m eager to share our findings at a professional conference,\u201d Radloff said, a chemistry and geology double-major from the Peoria, Illinois, area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of the work I intend to apply for in the future is related to hydrology,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is great for my resume and the opportunity to achieve that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Media contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brian Zimmerman<\/strong>
Assistant vice president of strategic communications
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Email: zimmebr@earlham.edu
Phone: 765.983.1256<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n