view the Grand Rapids Whitewater Request for Qualifications.

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.

Grand River prior to restoration.

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

Conceptual photograph of 'landscaped' 4th St dam.

Or this lowhead dam?

Existing dam, known by river experts as a 'drowning machine.'

Could Grand Rapids’ benefit from a picturesque new tourist attraction?  A wild, scenic, cascading waterfall right downtown?  It’s known by several names; The 6th Street Dam, 4th St. Dam, Fishing Dam and even The Falls.  The dam is appreciated by a few, ignored by most.  It was built in the mid 19th century to create a mill pond to provide water power for the huge furniture industry that GR was known for.  Today, it  simply serves the purpose of stalling seasonal anadromous fish en route to upriver spawning beds, indeed, providing a top, nationally recognized fishing hot spot (some would argue that additionally, the dam halts the lamprey eel from reaching theirs.)  But, it’s ugly and it is extremely dangerous (see Lowhead Dam Dangers on this web site). It does also create a vast pond that provides an urban recreational opportunity for water skiers, rowers and sea kayakers upstream at Riverside Park.  But, the dam kills people just as dead as if they went over Niagara Falls.

Is there an environmentally friendly way to mitigate the inherent dangers of the Fishing Dam and keep the existing river recreation?  GRWW believes so.  Face it! We propose* ‘facing’ the dam with landscape boulders,  stone and concrete made to look ‘real’ (see conceptual photo above -top.)  You can view such sculpted masonry work at various John Ball Zoo exhibits, Michigan’s Adventure Park and even miniature golf establishments.  By breaking up the perfect recirculating hydraulics of the lowhead dam, the flow is rendered harmless, save for a few bumps or bruises that might be experienced by a whitewater enthusiast.  The dam would also be a boon to our downtown economy, creating an important destination for visitors.  No one can say exactly how many jobs and businesses would be created, but it’s safe to say that everyone already living and working downtown would be do better.

Let’s face it, this just might be the win win solution we need.

Read more about the proposed changes to the Grand River downtown, please read Grand River Whitewater Park Preferred Alternative on this web site.

* GRWW does not propose going forward with any such alterations to the river or it’s surroundings until the proper environmental impact studies have been completed.

Now, consider this; If the Calder can do all of this for Grand Rapids, what would it mean for our economic, social and environmental future to revitalize our river and put the Rapids back in the Grand?  

La Grande Vitesse is perhaps our most distinctive landmark.  Known in our community, simply as the Calder, translated, it means ‘The Grand Rapids,’ a reference to the river flowing through the center of our city.  This summer, 2009, Grand Rapids will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its installation. http://www.artmuseumgr.org/home/page/Calder+Symposium+June+21

American sculptor and artist Alexander Calder (1898-1976) lauded for his mobiles, created this 42 ton work known as a stabile.  Standing 54 feet long, 43 feet high and 30 feet wide, it was designed to provide dramatically different views from each corner of the square. Although the sculpture is stationary, it gives the appearance of movement. 

It literally transformed our city.  In 1969 the Calder energized the community and made anything seem possible.  It sparked the city’s interest in other arts activities. A new home for the art museum, a civic theater and a symphony hall were soon built. The Calder sculpture’s birthday is celebrated with the annual Festival Of The Arts or simply Festival, http://www.festivalgr.org/ encompassing ten city blocks and attended by a half a million people.  We can also thank the Calder for our new innovative, LEED certified Grand Rapids Art Museum http://www.artmuseumgr.org/ and the exciting new $500,000 open art contest – Art Prize  http://www.artprize.org/  Even the food has changed. Grand Rapids, once a meat and potatoes town, is now recognized nationally as a diverse cosmopolitan downtown dining area, filled with hip and trendy eateries and nightspots to go along with world class art and a thriving community that keeps this area vibrant.

Again, consider this;  If the Calder can do all of this for Grand Rapids, what would it mean for our economic, social and environmental future to revitalize our river and put Rapids back in the Grand?

"Water is the best of all things." - Pindar (c. 522 BC - c. 438 BC), Olympian Odes

Swimming in the Grand River?  Fishing, rafting or kayaking in that water?!  Sure, why not?  The water quality of the Grand, as it flows through downtown Grand Rapids, is actually GOOD!  As a matter of fact, it is as good as that of renowned scenic trout stream, the Rogue River, a major upstream Grand River tributary.  What about after a big rain event?

No worries.  The new PARCC (Plainfield, Alpine, Rockford, Cannon and Cortland) Side Facility is up and running.  It is not your typical sewage treatment plant.  Located upriver at Lamoreaux Park off Coit Ave., this clean water plant really produces clean water.  Not just cleaner-than-sewage and being able to meet the minimum pollution standards allowed by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. EPA, the effluent is as clean or cleaner than the waters of the Grand River to which it is discharged, and it is probably clean enough for someone to drink as a demonstration. 

As for the infamous storm water run off,  the untreated sewage overflow problems Grand Rapids has been known for?  That all takes place downstream at Market Ave.  

The City of Grand Rapids has spent 210 million dollars on sewer upgrades since the 1980’s. That expenditure has reduced the total volume of untreated sewage discharged annually into the Grand by 99.74 percent.

The city will spend 260 million dollars by 2019, the deadline to eliminate the remaining 26 hundredths of a percent of sewage overflow. The year 2019 is specified in an agreement between the Grand Rapids and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality as the year by which the city will address the remaining 7 of its original 59 sewer overflow sites. 

Study From The City of Grand Rapids Environmental Services Department 

The water quality index (WQI) is a statistic designed to closely approximate state and national WQI’s as published on the Internet and elsewhere.  The usual factors that enter into its calculation are: the percent saturation of dissolved oxygen, the change in temperature from a reference temperature (usually the most upstream from heat sources), pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total solids, fecal coliform counts, phosphate, nitrate, and turbidity. For each parameter, a Q-statistic is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, 100 being best. 

Phase One and Two of the proposed whitewater installation would be constructed from approximately 6th St down to Fulton.  See the graphs below for water quality in that section of the river measured upstream at knapp and downstream at wealthy.  

For the entire published study, visit  http://www.ci.grand-rapids.mi.us/index.pl?page_id=1958