April 20 Akron City Council Public Service Committee meeting

Covered by Abby Cymerman.

The multi-year project to remove the Gorge Dam, a nearly 60-foot-tall concrete structure that was built in 1911 on the Cuyahoga River at the border of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, is slowly moving forward.

The dam, which no longer serves an industrial purpose and covers the waterfall for which Cuyahoga Falls was named, hinders the river’s flow. Its removal is expected to improve wildlife habitats, create recreational opportunities and drive economic development for the communities along the river’s path.

An ordinance to amend a $3.6 million contract that started in 2021 with Akron-based GPD Group to design the removal of the physical concrete structure of the Gorge Dam was discussed during the April 20 meeting of Akron City Council’s Public Service Committee.

The contract pays the firm to design and produce biddable documents and plans for the removal. The plans are expected to be finalized sometime next year.

The project’s scope will continue to evolve with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said Chris Ludle, Akron’s public service director, and include “a little bit of dredging” around the structure once the water levels are lower. 

The multi-year project to remove the Gorge Dam, a nearly 60-foot-tall concrete structure that was built in 1911 on the Cuyahoga River at the border of Akron and Cuyahoga Falls, is slowly moving forward. (Screenshot via Google Earth)

GPD Group designed the removal of two smaller dams in Cuyahoga Falls near the Sheraton Suites hotel. 

The second year of the project began in March with EPA contractors removing the contaminated sediment from behind the dam on the Akron side of the river. Ludle said during the committee meeting that the cleanup is expected to remove more than 850,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and will continue into 2027.

“We will have future legislation to bring before this council next year,” Ludle said. “And that legislation will be for the construction management and, actually, allowing us to bid out the destruction or the removal of the dam. We’ve been talking about this for over 10 years. Once this dam is done, this will join the other five dams that have been removed.” 

Courtney Winter, the project manager for the Gorge Dam project with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, shows officials how sediment will be removed from the Cuyahoga River. The officials are (L-R) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, Regional EPA Administrator Anne Vogel and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.
Courtney Winter, the project manager for the Gorge Dam project with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, shows officials how sediment will be removed from the Cuyahoga River Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, at Gorge Metro Park. The officials are (L-R) Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, Regional EPA Administrator Anne Vogel and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. (Arielle Kass / Signal Akron)

Gorge Dam originally supported hydroelectric power

The Gorge Dam was originally built to support hydroelectric power generation and provide cooling water for a nearby coal-fired power plant. In 1930, Ohio Edison-predecessor Northern Ohio Traction & Light Co. donated 144 acres of the land to Summit Metro Parks.

By removing the dam, the Cuyahoga River will be able to flow freely from Kent west to Cuyahoga Falls, through Gorge Metro Park to Akron, and then north to its mouth at Lake Erie.

“This is just another step,” Ludle said. “We’ve been talking about this for a while, but I think we’re getting closer and closer to making this project come to fruition.”

The ordinance to hire GPD Group will appear on the consent agenda at the April 27 City Council meeting. 

The Cuyahoga River could be free-flowing from its headwaters in Geauga County to its mouth at Lake Erie in the next five years, thanks to the Gorge Dam removal project.
The Cuyahoga River will be free-flowing from Kent to its mouth at Lake Erie when the removal of the Gorge Dam is completed. (Courtesy of Summit Metro Parks)

The total project, which Ludle said is completely funded, is expected to cost $130 million, paid for in part with federal funds awarded in 2023 from the federal EPA through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

The project will also receive funding from non-federal partners, including the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, the City of Akron, FirstEnergy/Ohio Edison and the Ohio EPA. Additional financial and technical support comes from Summit Metro Parks, the City of Cuyahoga Falls, the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and Summit County.

Ludle invited the community to attend a presentation about the Gorge Dam removal project April 28 at 6 p.m. at the main branch of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St. in downtown Akron. The mayor and representatives from the city’s engineering department, from Summit Metro Parks and from the U.S. EPA will attend and answer questions about the project.

Contributing Reporter
An award-winning journalist with three decades of experience covering cities and schools, interviewing top executives of middle-market companies and bringing awareness to nonprofit organizations, Abby has always believed it is vital to share the stories of the Northeast Ohioans who make our community great. In addition to reporting for several local publications, she was managing editor of AkronLife magazine and associate editor of Smart Business. A lifelong resident of West Akron, she is a proud graduate of Firestone High School and Ohio University.