Engineering Feasibility Study Has Been Completed
St. Charles Active River Park Feasibility Study – Executive Summary
In 2015 the City of St. Charles, the St. Charles Park District and the River Corridor Foundation of St. Charles - referred to as the Active River Project Partners - jointly updated the Fox River Corridor Master Plan intending to provide a strategic framework to enhance the Fox River as a resource for the community from environmental, recreational and economic development perspectives. The Master Plan provides guidance for public and private investment, projects along the Fox River in St. Charles and the Plan recognizes the importance of connectivity of the river and adjacent land uses.
The Active River Project Partners engaged a team of specialists WBK to investigate alternatives to accomplish the objectives of the Master Plan with a focus on the section of the Fox River between Main Street and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) trestle. This section of the Fox River is approximately 1100 feet long and includes the St. Charles – Fox River dam. The St. Charles dam is 300 feet long with a crest elevation of approximately 684. Mean daily flows can be approximated at 1200 cubic feet/second (cfs). Normal pool elevation is approximately 686. Based on the best available records, the dam is owned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The purpose of this feasibility study - funded by the Active River Partners - was to determine qualitatively if dam modification appears feasible and to develop a set of concept alternatives that accomplish the objectives of the River Corridor Foundation of St. Charles Master Plan without significant adverse impact to existing recreational uses of the river. This concept study concluded by identifying significant challenges and opportunities created by proposed concept alternatives as scoping items for future evaluation and engineering.
