Fremont officials want to raze dam

2/9/2009
ASSOCIATED PRESS

FREMONT Officials said they will tear down a nearly century-old, dilapidated dam on the Sandusky River in northern Ohio by 2013.

The Ballville Dam outside Fremont stopped providing electricity more than 60 years ago.

Officials say it s a liability and an obstacle to improving the city s water quality. It also blocks walleye and other fish from spawning and swimming to nearby Lake Erie.

Geology professor James Evans, a city consultant, says he sees no reason to keep the dam.

A group of residents disagree, arguing that its removal could lead to higher water rates.

Mark Chudzinski of Citizens to Save the Ballville Dam says residents also worry that it would change the river s flow, destroying a landscape feature they value.