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MUNCIE DAMS
Muncie, IN
The White River Dam Removal and Modification project restores the river as an ecological and recreational community asset by removing and transforming industrial dams to provide a revitalized waterway that improves water quality, supports aquatic habitat, and enables safe recreational use along Muncie’s White River corridor.
2016-2026
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Flatland Resources has led feasibility studies, planning, design, and construction oversight for multiple dam removals and modifications, playing a central role in restoring the White River’s ecological function and improving its safety and accessibility.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
As a result of the rapid industrial growth in Muncie in the early 1900s, a total of five dams were built along a 3-mile stretch of the White River. The construction of these dams accounted for almost half of the dams along the White River’s 362-mile length in Indiana from the headwaters to the confluence of the Wabash. These five dams included the Indiana American Water Intake Dam for potable water, the Indiana Steel and Wire Dam for industrial cooling, McCulloch Park Dam for an aesthetic lake effect, High Street Dam for heating and cooling of the electric plant, and the Wastewater Pollution Control Facility (WEPCF) Dam for sewage interception.
As historic industrial uses declined and environmental priorities shifted, these dams increasingly conflicted with the city’s water quality, habitat, and recreational goals. As time went on, these dams had increasingly negative impacts on the ecology of the White River and the Muncie community. As industry changed throughout the city, so did the momentum for dam removals and modifications.
In 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Lakes and Rivers Enhancement Project partnered with the Community Enhancement Project to fund a removal feasibility study. Flatland Resources was contracted to complete several dam removal feasibility studies. Through the competition of these studies funded by local and federal sources, Flatland was then able to move forward with the removal of both the Indiana Steel and Wire Dam and the McCulloch Park Dam, along with the modification of the Indiana American Water Intake Dam, and future assessment of the High Street Dam. The inventory, planning, design, and construction oversight provided by Flatland has successfully transformed 4 of the 5 dams in Muncie to improve water quality, support river ecology, allow for safe recreational passage, and restore the natural value of the White River to the community.
DAM PROJECTS ACROSS MUNCIE, IN
PROJECT PERSONNEL
PHIL
project lead
DAVID
project manager
+project designer
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DEMOLITION OF GEORGE R. DALE DAM
Earlier in my career, I helped build and repair dams on the White River. Later in life, I found myself advocating for the removal of dams. Community outreach regarding dams is never easy. FlatLand efforts to educate the community has always been respectful. Muncie’s dam alterations has transformed future generations’ use of the White River.
- John Craddock, Muncie Bureau of Water Quality Emeritus
MODIFICATION OF WESTFORK DAM
DEMOLITION OF GEORGE R. DALE DAM
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