Greene County crews are removing a low dam from the Little Miami River that is off U.S. 68 in Xenia Twp.
The work is locally and federally funded and should be done by Friday.
News Center 7 Gabrielle Enright talked with crews about what this removal means.
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Members of the Little Miami Conservancy say removing the dam will improve the biology of the river.
“The goal today is to rip out a dam that’s been in about 50 years,” said Eric Partee, executive director of the Little Miami Conservancy. “When you put a dam in the Little Miami or any stream it tends to back up the water and the sediments filter and settle out, basically squashing all the biology in that stream in that section.”
Paddle sports experts also say the dam removal will make the water safer.
“They create a hydraulic swirl, where it’s just a continuous swirl. If you canoe or kayak, you are caught up in the swirl,” Rhett Rohrer said.
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In addition to removing the dam, crews will also be planting more trees.
There are two other low dams along the Little Miami River near Clifton and Waynesville, but there are no plans yet to remove them.
