(Danville) — Two companies have submitted bids to remove the Long Mill Dam. City Council voted 6-to-3 last year to remove the 129-year old structure.
It’s a low head dam. Those have been cited as a factor in deaths the past several years along portions of the Dan River.
During the debate over removal, some Council members said they wanted to keep the dam for the aesthetics it offers near the Danville Family YMCA. They also worried what removal would do to water levels.
Staffers say post-removal water levels should be adequate. Supporters say keeping the dam would make it more difficult for the city to obtain permits for recreation projects.
Danville Vice-Mayor Doctor Gary Miller says public safety and flooding concerns are why he voted to remove of the low-head dam. “With the Dan River Falls construction project going on and the Riverfront Park, the river is finally going to be used after all these years,” Miller told Council. “That dam is an impediment so we have to get it moved to see these projects through to completion.”
Earlier this year, Danville City Council voted to apply for a matching grant of a half (m) million dollars through the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund.
A company called Reclaim submitted a two-point-two million-dollar bid. A bid from Shenandoah Streamworks came in at under a million. City officials will decide on the winning bid.