Kids swimming on a hot day, kayaks paddling downstream and dog-walkers strolling along the river trail – an active community is a healthy community. We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service believe that nothing gets active communities in the flow of recreation like a river. Take the community around the University of Michigan-Flint where students rush to class and the Flint River runs through the busy campus, for example. For more than 100 years that flow was restricted by a hazardous dam. We worked with Genesee County Parks and other partners to remove Hamilton Dam and revitalize the Flint River. Citywide efforts are now restoring the riverside, allowing the community to reconnect with a safe and healthy river.

History of Hamilton Dam

In 1920, during the industrialization of Flint, the river system was impeded with this 218-foot-long concrete gravity dam which was constructed to sustain water levels for an upstream water treatment plant. Later, the dam was used to facilitate milling operations for the region’s logging industry and also served as a water source for local industries. By the 1960s, the dam served as an upstream anchor point for flood control projects by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

Since construction, several modifications and repairs were made, including the addition of a fish ladder in 1978. Faulty design of the ladder, however, made it ineffective for most fish.

Throughout the period of industrialization, the Flint River continued degrade. The construction of multiple dams, and subsequent channelization, dredging, and urban development, made the river less hospitable to aquatic life, as well as recreational opportunities for people.

Low head dams are a recognized public safety concern – even those that are structurally sound. In the 1980s, Hamilton Dam received a high hazard potential rating and later an unsatisfactory condition assessment which mandated its replacement. Despite the knowledge that dams like these are a safety risk to people and pose a barrier to fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

Learn more about fish passage , it remained in place for more than 100 years.

Our agency, alongside our partners, have invested in the city of Flint. Removal of what was designated as one of Michigan’s most critical high-hazard dams and reconstruction of the natural riverbed is improving the area for safe recreation, boosting the local economy and conserving aquatic species.

How to reconstruct a river

Natural river systems include complex, high velocity areas, now almost absent. Many of our dammed rivers lack the diversity of habitat necessary for many fish to survive. Removal of the dam is only half the story. Once the dam is out, the river can be rebuilt.

We use a number of strategies to reconstruct the river by mimicking what nature does naturally. Rocks are used to add stability and grade control to the bed. Rootwads and woody debris are used to stabilize the banks and direct the flow. This mimicry of the natural habitat invites a diversity of fish species into the area, increases recreation opportunities and supports river health.

Fighting for Flint River fish

Just like people need to go to work and to the grocery store, fish need to move around in their habitats to get all the resources they need, such as food and mates. By taking out Hamilton Dam, fish will have 25 miles of connected habitat in the Flint River, including more than 5 miles of critical lake sturgeon habitat.

Lake sturgeon, a priority species facing a multitude of documented stressors, are believed to have used Flint River as a spawning ground. Removal of Hamilton Dam, upstream of Saginaw Bay, will be vital in recovering Lake Huron’s sturgeon. Ongoing efforts that we already do, like stocking juvenile lake sturgeon near the dam, will be magnified. Lake sturgeon will have the opportunity to return to historic spawning grounds, and once again be able to continue their natural life cycle.

Open rivers are needed by all types of aquatic animals and plants. Species like walleye, channel catfish, smallmouth bass, northern pike, common carp and white sucker will also see benefits. In addition to improved local fish habitat, the dam’s removal will have positive impacts on water quality and recreational activities, like angling and paddling. Returning the natural system to the landscape will also positively impact stormwater runoff and flood control.

Revitalizing the riverfront

Healthy resources promote healthy living, for all of us. The Flint River runs through the heart of the city and creates recreational and economic opportunities for both residents and visitors to enjoy.

Alongside the needed removal of Hamilton Dam, there’s been a larger effort to take back the Flint River by Genesee County. In a broader project dubbed the Flint Riverfront Revitalization Project, the county’s additional efforts have already taken place, including the creation of Chevy Commons, a public park built over an old industrial site. The city and state also removed another dam just downstream of Hamilton, Fabri Dam, and constructed riffle habitat structures above and below the old Hamilton Dam site to ensure successful fish passage.

Safe recreation is not possible with high-hazard dams in the water. We are working hard with our partners to create safer, healthier communities. Both people and wildlife will benefit from full access to the revitalized Flint River, and with a safer place to connect with nature, current and future generations can enjoy the outdoors sustainably.