Eel River dam removal underway in Logansport

Last Updated on November 9, 2021 by Cass County Online

Crews began removing the low-head dams in the Eel River in Logansport on Nov. 9, 2021.

Logansport Municipal Utilities shared video from the project on Facebook:

The project will remove the larger dam located at 10th Street and the three-foot dam located downstream. The 10th Street dam was first built in 1854 and completed in 1857 for the Logansport Waterworks and Electric Company. The smaller dam was constructed in 1835. Neither dam was in use.

According to Logansport Municipal Utilities, the Eel River had 14 dams along it, mostly for milling and power sources. Many of them were destroyed naturally. Other Indiana cities have removed four Eel River dams. The dams at Manchester and Liberty Mills were removed in 2012, followed by one near Mexico in 2016.

LMU recently demolished the water plant at the west end of Riverside Park that was no longer in operation, and is in the process of demolishing the electric generating plant that closed in 2016. The coal conveyor that runs from the south to the north side of the river will also be removed.

The dam removal project is expected to be completed by early December.

These photos were taken between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2021: