Yorkville Photographer Documents Removal of Blackberry Creek Dam

Yorkville resident Ken Gortowski, a self-described "dam removal geek" is documenting the removal of the 175-year-old Blackberry Creek dam.

Gortowski said he visits the dam site weekly to photograph the removal. He keeps a journal of the work and archives of his photos at his website, www.waterdogjournal.com.

"This is one of the best things that could happen to a creek and the Fox River," he said in an email. "This is one of those things that kind of flies under the radar for 99 percent of people, but it is important from an ecological standpoint."

Gortowski, who calls himself a "creek fishing junkie," said he hopes to find smallmouth bass "wandering upstream in a couple of years."

The dam removal is part of the River Road bridge project. The bridge, which shared an abutment with the Blackberry Creek dam, was closed IN 2011 after officials noticed a crack in the abutment worsening.

Last year the Aurora Beacon reported the Department of Natural Resources said the dam is an impediment to water quality. Removing the dam would "create a cleaner flow from the Fox River into Blackberry Creek, creating a better environment for fish and fish spawning," the Beacon reported.