Cuyahoga Gorge Dam Removal Marks the Start of the River’s Next Era

Shovels are finally breaking ground around the Gorge Dam, and the process of the entire dam’s removal has begun. Starting with what’s around the river, workers will remove the sediment in preparation for dismantling the dam and allowing the river to flow freely. This step is essential so that debris along the shore doesn’t pollute the water, and the restoration can begin. 

Summit County MetroParks is excited to enter the second phase after being stuck in phase one due to funding plans. The dam requires significant funding from both federal and state governments and initially, the project was estimated to be around $50 million.

 

However, with the project now underway, they are estimating a cost of more than $100 million for the sediment and dam removal altogether.

“The anomaly that 2025 has been at the federal level with funding and, with such a large project, it really is quite amazing how all of the stars have seemed to align, ” said Jennifer M. Grieser, the Director of Natural Resources at Cleveland Metroparks and Chair of Cuyahoga River AOC (Area of Concern). 

Despite the increased cost, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was able to provide 65% of the funding needs, along with other partnerships such as the Ohio Edison Company, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, H2O Ohio, and the City of Akron.

When the river was deemed an Area of Concern in 1987, many realized that the dam was an issue for the river and needed to be removed. Phase one was completed in April 2025, with phase two in motion currently, and expected to be complete by the fall of 2027.

After removal, the debris will be transported to a “sediment site”, where it will be safely stored. Phase three will continue after the sediment removal, with the official breakdown of the Gorge Dam. 

“The dam removal and that’s kind of interesting to think about, it’s over fifty feet tall, the dam, and they can only reduce the water level one foot a week. Just so that you’re not sending a surge of water downstream and causing a bunch of downstream erosion,” said Grieser. 

Years of planning have led up to the removal, because the dam serves no purpose to the river currently, and is a problem in restoration. The dam is the last of six others scheduled for removal. Its original purpose was to provide hydroelectric power and cooling water. The power plant, once used by the dam, has been out of commission for decades. 

With the removal of the dam, the crew will then move into the last phase of the project, focusing on restoration. Mike Johnson, Chief of Conservation at Summit Metro Parks, said the funding that the dam has received can be heavily attributed to the community within the metroparks. 

“It’s just important to remember the power of partnerships, and while this has received a lot of federal funding, it’s taken a lot of local partners working together, ” he said. 

The people of Summit County can expect the surrounding areas of the trail along the Gorge to be closed until further notice, as the project is estimated to be completed by 2030. 

Johnson expresses his concern about the water quality and why the removal is necessary for environmental benefit. “The water behind the dam often stagnates, and so it impacts the river upstream of the dam,” Johnson said. 

“We still have higher inputs of phosphorus than we should in our rivers, but a free-flowing river would accommodate and process that; a dammed river cannot,” Johnson said. 

Additionally, another step of rehabilitation is the quality of fish life. “Dams also prevent fish movement, so a lot of fish can’t migrate to their spawning grounds. We have a lot of fish here in Ohio that migrate,” he said. 

Monitoring the fish in the river is an essential part of understanding the wildlife’s movement, ensuring the fish can move upstream once the dam is removed. 

This construction of the dam isn’t only beneficial to the river restoration; enhancing biodiversity and increasing fish population is another goal that Summit County Metro is trying to achieve.

“We are just learning some really cool things about a variety of fish, not only how the presence of the dam impacts them and their movements, but they’ve installed telemetry tags in them,” said Grieser.

Cascade Valley Metro went as far as to place a location tracking tag inside the fish to understand their placement and observe their movement patterns. This tagging can also help keep the fish in sight while construction happens, monitoring how they will react to the change of the river over time. 

The pattern of the river will also be affected as it connects the two streams of the Cuyahoga, upstream and downstream of the river, which will create white water. 

The free flow of the river allows the fish to get through without the dam being an obstacle. The join means that the river will now be a five-mile continuous stretch of white water rapids, between a 3 to 5 class level. 

“Downstream of the dam, I think that’s a good representation. Large boulders, cliff walls, I think it’s gonna be absolutely gorgeous,” said Grieser.

The dam will be fully dismantled over the course of seven years, and the water streams are said to connect slowly and gradually over time.