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Glen D. Palmer Dam Canoe/Kayak Chute Update

Upon completion of the canoe chute in 2010, the United City of Yorkville will have an environmentally safe structure in their downtown area that will provide a fun and healthy activity for the Yorkville community, recreational outdoor enthusiasts and avid sports seekers.

View graphical updates of the Glen D. Palmer Dam here.

Construction information on the Glen D. Palmer Dam

Yorkville's Whitewater Recreation Facility at Bicentennial Riverfront Park

History of the Glen D. Palmer Dam

The Glen D. Palmer Dam, a permanent fixture in the center of the United City of Yorkville since 1952, anchors the Fox River. The dam’s location is approximately 940 feet upstream from the Illinois Rt. 47 bridge that forms a focal point of the city’s downtown area. Known as the City with a River in its Heart, Yorkville residents have embraced the dam as a structure that has added both charm and character to the city. The Fox River has been a recreational destination in Yorkville for canoeists, kayakers and fishermen for many years.

A transformation of the structure began in the fall of 2006 by IDNR to ensure public safety, develop recreational opportunities and to improve the ecology of the river. The three specific areas of concentration include:

• Improving public safety at the dam by eliminating the submerged hydraulic jump below the dam
  through a stair step modification to the original Ogee spillway;
• The design of a fish passage system at the dam via a denil fish ladder at the north abutment and a natural bypass channel at the south abutment and;
• To provide safe canoe and kayak boat passage through the dam via a natural bypass channel at the south abutment with opportunities for white water boating recreation.

The construction of the project is being completed in three phases.

Phase I was an ecological improvement consisting of the fish ladder and a redesign of a safe spillway. In the spring of 2008 Phase 1 was completed. The fish passage system now allows fish the ability to move both upstream and downstream. The new spillway now provides a safe environment eliminating the occurrence of a strong downstream hydraulic roller effect.

Phase II of the project is still under construction and consists of a chute/kayak chute with two routes providing a facility that would allow canoeists and kayakers to safely navigate a boat through the dam site. The two routes are explained below:

Moderate Waterway Route (Class 2 or less): This route is designed to serve both open and closed deck boats. An inexperienced boater who enters the bypass channel will be directed to the center line of this route with little to no maneuvering required. Additionally, this route has been designed to represent a run-of-river rapid with good visibility downstream, the ability to easily avoid rocks, good escape characteristics and minimal risk of injury to capsized boaters.

Challenge Waterway Route (Class 3 or less): The challenge waterway route is designed to serve primarily closed deck boats. It is intended to be difficult and challenging for an inexperienced boater to enter this route. This route was also designed to provide moderate waves and eddies for experienced boaters to maneuver around and within.

Phase III of the project consists of a pedestrian bridge to a man-made island and will begin after the completion of phase II.