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Dreams of dam-less river becoming reality in Lowellville
LOWELLVILLE
The village celebrated a groundbreaking Friday morning, not in anticipation of a new structure, but rather the removal of one.
After five years of planning and discussions, a cement dam in the Mahoning River near Lowellville’s Water Street will be removed.
The dam’s removal is the first step in the village’s broader downtown development plan, which includes the installation of a canoe livery where the dam currently sits and eventual business development along the river’s edge.
Mayor James Iudiciani led a short ceremony in the gazebo at Veteran’s Park in downtown Lowellville to mark the occasion. Approximately 100 people – mostly state and local elected officials and a handful of river and nature enthusiasts – attended.
“Hopefully, someday soon all of the dams will be removed,” Iudiciani said. “People come to water. With the river opening up, we’re going to grow this village.”
There are several dams along the Mahoning River, including one in Struthers, that will be removed next year and an additional three in Youngstown.
Craig Butler, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency director, said he hopes Friday’s event will be the first of many celebrating the removal of the dams.
Iudiciani said he already has spoken with a number of potential developers about bringing businesses into the village, including a potential brew pub.
“I’ve got one developer now who’s potentially looking at investing $15 million to $30 million here,” Iudiciani said. “Removing the dam means new people will come to the city, which allows us to attract these businesses and developers. The whole Valley will benefit from this.”
Mayors from cities along the river – including Mayor Jamael Tito Brown of Youngstown, Mayor Nick Phillips of Campbell and Mayor Terry Stocker of Struthers – attended the event, as did state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-33rd, and Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman Mark Monroe and Mahoning County Commissioners Carol Rimedio-Righetti and Anthony Traficanti, among others.
The $2.3 million dam removal project is expected to finish in December 2019 and is funded through use of the state’s Water Resource Restoration Sponsorship program.
After the removal, the project teams will stabilize the banks of the river and work on creating a park near the river’s edge with showers and restrooms for canoeists and kayakers.