Grand Rapids Whitewater

“A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Have you noticed Grand Rapids has been doing a magnificent job with our new creative economy?  Medical Mile is world class with the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Lack’s Cancer Research Center and now Michigan State University Medical School.  Look at the $70 million LEED certified Grand Rapids Art Museum and the new UICA architecture.  Art Prize!  The diverse, creative, post industrial economy has helped us weather the recent recession.  Now we have another opportunity to be innovative and resourceful.  Restore the rapids in the Grand River!  Science, art …… and now active urban recreation?  Now that’s a formula for success.  Magnificent.

Conceptual photograph of proposed rapids near Amway Grand Plaza ©Simon

Our rapids are grand, or at least they may be, once again. There is a lot of talk of a “kayak park” being built downtown on the Grand River. Yes, there could be new recreational opportunities for the river, new whitewater adventure sports like kayaking and canoeing, but the real goal of GRWW is to restore the river to a more natural looking waterway for everyone to enjoy. In, on or around.

Read the rest of this entry »

Regarding the return of rapids to the Grand, the Michigan DNR went on record saying, “We’re very open to the idea of doing this on the Grand River. We think it would actually probably improve the fish habitat in that area. And, you know, one of the reasons of course we’re supportive too is it creates another great recreational activity … to get people outdoors doing something like that.”
You can hear the entire interview here http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1661162

WARNING: Stay away from the 6th St and Bridgewater dams. Exit the river above the Fish Ladder (we use the East side, upriver of Sixth St) and put in below Bridge St at Ah-Nab-Awen Park.

The foremost priority of GRWW is river safety. Our organization is focused on remediating the inherent dangers of the lowhead dams found downtown. The goal is to raise money to redesign and reengineer these drowning machines so no river user is ever caught again in these perilous conditions.

Watch this accurate and comprehensive news coverage by Fox17. Outstanding!

Current lowhead dam at the Bridgewater Building

Conceptual image- after the reengineering and beautification.

If nothing else, we need to make our river safer.  The lowhead dam, top, is referred to as a drowning machine.  Replacing the existing lowheads, known locally, and erroneously as cofferdams, would create a safer experience for river users.  Lowhead dams produce a dangerous, perfect hydraulic that is difficult to navigate and too often impossible to escape.  Remember, we do advocate keeping the Fish Ladder dam, aka 6th St Dam or 4th St dam.  We are working with the city and engineers to design a proper portage around.

April 24, 2010. We have the rest of the story. The two fishermen refused to talk on camera, but we have an eyewitness account of the near tragedy. Another story of a capsized boat and near drowning at one of five lowhead dams, downtown.

The two men were motoring up river on the East side, near the Post Office. Dr. Neil Colegrove, a resident of River House, was watching the scene unfold with his wife Pat. Colegrove commented that they didn’t appear to know the river. “Most boaters use the break in the dam on the West side. I asked my wife to call 911. I knew what was about to happen.”
As the driver attempted to power up over the dam, their boat was caught, turned and flipped. One fishermen jumped out and over the boil, safely downstream. The other man was bucked overboard and caught by the dams powerful recirculation. “He was no little guy,” said Colgrove, “he looked strong, but he was in there getting ‘Maytagged’ for 15 seconds or so, gasping for air.” Neither man was wearing a life preserver.
The Bridgewater dam is the most dangerous ‘coffer’ on the river, because it looks harmless. October 26, 2009, two kayakers were rescued by fishermen from the same spot. One victim was resuscitated, but their dog did not survive. http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2009/10/couples_rescue_on_grand_river.html

Coming up on the one year anniversary that one rafter will never forget.

Rapid Magazine, an international paddling publication, recently picked up our story. Stay tuned for the article.

Listen to this! 5662_0125101 Chris Muller and Chip Richards were joined by WGVU’s Lindsey Smith as we walked the Grand River with representatives of the Michigan DNR and local engineering firm FTC&H. Afterward, we had lunch 50 paces from the water, at Tommy Fitzgerald’s Cafe Stella www.tommyfitzgeraldgroup.com. Outstanding river, outstanding food. Keeping it local, bringing it Downtown!
http://www.wgvu.org/wgvunews/index.cfm?id=sdetail&sty=5662