Oswego backs effort to complete stalled Fox River study

The Oswego Village Board has signaled its support for a study of the Fox River during a recent meeting.

As part of its Jan. 12 consent agenda, the board approved a resolution in “Support of the Completion of The Fox River Connectivity & Habitat Study by The U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers.”

A memo written for the board by Project Engineer Susan Quasney explained that a local nonprofit organization, the Fox River Study Group (FRSG), has been working since its founding in 2003 to improve the quality and health of the river “as a key regional national resource.”

“As the quality of the Fox River continues to improve, in part due to the effort of this work group, there has been a growing interest in watersport and urban riverfront renewal,” Quasney wrote.

Part of the improvements, she continued, are a series of low head dams that stretch along the river from Carpentersville to Montgomery, built originally to provide power to the area “that are now functionally and economically obsolete,” Quasney continued. “These dams currently serve only to impair water quality, encourage nuisance algae, and negatively impact the natural plant and animal habitats.”

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began a Section 519 study focusing on the health of the Illinois River Basin, but it has stalled for the past five years due to budgetary issues.

“The FRSG has been actively pursuing completion of the portion of the study that addresses the Fox River for the last few years with no success, even with the offer of the group to fully fund the state and local share of the work,” Quasney wrote.

“They are now requesting assistance from stakeholders by approving resolutions of support to request USACE include this study in their fiscal year 2021 work plan.”

The resolution, signed by the board, emphasizes the importance of the Fox River, reading, “The Fox River was central to the lives of Native Americans inhabiting the Fox River Valley in Wisconsin and Illinois for over a millennia, providing an abundance of food and water to wildlife and those native populations.

“Most of the dams constructed on the Fox River have no flood control benefit or potential for the economic generation of sustainable electrical or mechanical power...The Fox River, while showing significant improvements, remains subject to water quality impairments created by those dams with associated impacts contrary to the interests of public safety, recreation and public water supply.”

The Oswego Village Board of Trustees will next meet at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Village Hall, 100 Parkers Mill.