RIVER FALLS – The City of River Falls has taken a major stride toward realizing the vision of a restored Kinnickinnic River by securing a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that provides public engineering services and funding. This spring, the Corps will conduct a feasibility study for the city, the first step in the agency’s process for taking on a river restoration project.

According to Kinni Corridor Collaborative President and Board Chair Judie Foster Babcock, the cost-share contract agreement between the city and COE will be signed at the Feb. 28 River Falls City Council meeting at City Hall (222 Lewis St.)

In November 2022, the Corps contacted city staff to discuss a grant program that could provide up to $10 million for river restoration.

“Many times during this process, there have been round pegs trying to fit into square holes to bring our vision to life,” City Administrator Scot Simpson said. “The Army Corps is not one of those instances. This is like if you were going to create a federal agency to help us get our vision accomplished – the Army Corps is it. The Army Corps is a round peg in a round hole.”

The journey toward dam removal was set in motion in 2018, when River Falls City Council voted to remove both dams and set a target timeline: Powell Falls by 2026 and Junction Falls between 2035 and 2040.

The Council considered many angles and perspectives in its decision-making process. Hydroelectric power comes with several benefits: it does not use fossil fuels or produce harmful emissions, and it provides a steady supply of clean energy. It’s reliable and highly efficient — much more than solar power, wind power, and coal power. However, dams also have a significant environmental impact: they disrupt ecosystems by blocking migratory routes for fish and create lower oxygen levels downstream, which can affect not only plant and aquatic life, but also land-based animal species.

The dams have played a key role in the city’s history. In the mid to late 1800s, when milling was the principal industry in River Falls, Junction Falls was built as a privately- owned dam. After a fire burned down the mill in 1900, the city acquired ownership of the dam and founded River Falls Municipal Utilities.

“Junction Falls dam was the original source of power for the lights on Main Street,” Utilities Director Kevin Westhuis said. “Before we had hydroelectric power, Main Street was lit by gas lamps. At the time, Junction Falls transformed River Falls into a modern city, and Powell Falls followed later in 1920 to provide additional hydroelectric production.”

However, while the dams were once transformative for the city, they provide enough electricity to power only about 4% of homes in River Falls today. The Council’s decision to reexamine the dams was prompted by the then-upcoming expiration of the dams’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license, which was set to occur in August 2018.

Dam owners must renew their licenses every 30-50 years to remain in compliance with the federal government. Renewal is accomplished through a complex administrative process that requires significant money and staff time. “We’re operating under the same process of relicensing as the Hoover Dam,” Simpson said. “It just doesn’t square with the scale and scope of our dams.” In 2016, as the 2018 license expiration date drew nearer, city leaders and staff began reevaluating the costs and benefits of the dams. To determine a path forward, the city spent approximately two years carrying out a major planning effort that culminated in the creation of the Kinnickinnic River Corridor Plan. “The river is central to the community – not just centrally located, but central to our being,” Community Development Director Amy Peterson said. “Ensuring that the development of this plan was collaborative and community-based was essential to ensuring that the recommendations would reflect the values and priorities of the community.” The planning process involved extensive community engagement, including the creation of the Kinni Corridor Project Committee; public meetings and workshops; several community surveys; and “Tech Talks,” in which subject matter experts spoke with the community about topics including river ecology, hydro relicensing, dam removal alternatives, and more. “Engagement was critical because, as a growing city, we had a lot of people that didn’t have all the history,” Simpson said. “It was important to get people up to speed so that they could have an equal stake in the decision-making. If you look at the way the engagement was set up, it wasn’t just a series of town halls… we were very deliberate in bringing in experts and ensuring the City was not the central voice in the process. We also made sure there was ample space in the process for residents to tell us what they thought.” Community feedback during the planning process revealed several important insights. The top four most important activities on the Kinni for community members were, in order: hiking/walking, paddling, relaxing along the shoreline, fishing, and picnicking. Community members overwhelmingly expressed a desire to better connect the city’s downtown to the riverfront, wanting enhanced access to the river from Main Street and better visibility of the river downtown. They also expressed a desire for more trails; enhanced fishing, paddling, birding, biking, and hiking opportunities; and improved conditions for wildlife.

The planning efforts culminated in a recommendation from the Kinni Corridor Project Committee to move toward the removal of both dams, prompting the Council’s 2018 resolution. The committee also recommended the creation of an implementation committee to bring the community’s vision to life. In 2019, Kinni Corridor Collaborative (KCC) was founded to achieve that purpose. “Once the decision was made to take the dams out, that was a huge project, and the question was, ‘How does city of 16,000 start to crack that?’” Peterson said. “The only logical path forward was through a community partnership.” KCC has two primary roles: fundraising to support implementation efforts, and community engagement to ensure residents’ voices remain centered. “They are invaluable in keeping the vision alive as we navigate what continues to be a long process toward a free-flowing river,” Simpson said. “KCC is here to keep us connected to the community and help carry on that legacy of, ‘We built the plan together and we’re going to implement it together.’” “We are proud to have a highly engaged, all-volunteer board representing many different stakeholder groups in the community,” KCC President Judie Foster Babcock said. “These connections have helped us make some huge strides, including raising funds to support the decommissioning of Powell Falls Dam and to supplement the one-million-dollar grant the Wisconsin DNR offered for the removal of Powell Falls dam. We have also committed to raise up to $175,000 toward the City’s portion of costs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study.”

“I believe the Army Corps involvement is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” KCC Vice President Steve Goff said. “The Corps has experienced professionals that can provide the resources, technical expertise, and guidance to move us forward through the implementation process.” “The Corps has a record of accomplishing what they set out to do,” Simpson added. “And they’re not pro-dam or anti-dam – they’re longtime dam owners and operators and they’ve also helped with removal projects, so they’re simply project people.” Later this year, the Army Corps will begin work on the feasibility study, which will determine the ecological benefits to dam removal and include a cost-benefit analysis. The study is required by the federal government before the Army Corps can fund a dam removal project.

The Army Corps’ role will be similar to that of a consultant for the city: Corps staff will conduct the research, and city staff will support their efforts by providing needed documents and data. The initial $100,000 of the study’s costs will be fully covered with federal funds, while any further costs will be split equally between the Corps and the city. The study will span between 18-24 months.

Community engagement and outreach is a federal requirement the Corp must fulfill while completing the study, so community members can expect engagement opportunities to be announced throughout the process. Opportunities may include open houses, surveys, and online feedback tools. After the feasibility study is complete, the city and River Falls Utility Advisory Board will review the study’s conclusions and decide whether to move forward with the agency’s proposal.

“The involvement of the Army Corps is another step toward the evolution of the Kinni River Corridor,” Peterson said. “A restored Kinni holds so many possibilities. We could turn the faces of our downtown buildings toward the river. We could build a pavilion for performances. We could construct more bridges and trails so that you could walk from outside of town on the north side all the way down along the river. I liken it to what so many other river cities and towns have done – they have miles of trails that leave from their downtown, they have residential development in their downtown, and there are people and activity there all the time. That just makes you want to be there and be part of it.” The city will soon have an updated Kinni Corridor website where you can follow the progress of the feasibility study. Keep an eye on Facebook, Instagram, and the City’s website for more information coming soon. This article was published in the city’s most recent newsletter.