Root

On April 10, 2024, the county board voted unanimously to support removal of the Horlick Dam. There will be a bidding process, and (once a bid is selected) removal will likely be a somewhat prolonged process. To minimize a massive release of sediments from the pond, a gradual draw down is planned (taking out a couple of stop-logs from the dam, waiting a week or two, removing a couple more, etc.) until the pond is totally drawn down, at which time the cement structure will be removed. The bidding process was supposed to begin mid-2025, but (as of March 2026) I have seen no evidence of movement on this, so we have no idea when the process will begin. The impact on this section of river will be possible reveal of a couple areas of more significant rapids which may presently be buried by the waters of the millpond. This will bring additional concern if casual recreational paddlers continue past the old dam site (into the next section of river listed here). Paddlers will need to be very aware of water levels, as the next half-mile section will be dramatically more challenging at moderate-to-high flows. For this reason, once the dam is removed, the recommended take-out for this section may change.

On April 10, 2024, the county board voted unanimously to support removal of the Horlick Dam. There will be a bidding process, and (once a bid is selected) removal will likely be a somewhat prolonged process. To minimize a massive release of sediments from the pond, a gradual draw down is planned (taking out a couple of stop-logs from the dam, waiting a week or two, removing a couple more, etc.) until the pond is totally drawn down, at which time the cement structure will be removed. Last timeline I saw suggested bidding process to begin mid-2025, so removal could begin late 2025, perhaps winter 2025-2026.

The impact on this section of river will be possible reveal of a couple areas of more significant rapids which may presently be buried by the waters of the millpond. This will bring additional concern if casual recreational paddlers continue past the old dam site (into the next section of river listed here).

Paddlers will need to be very aware of water levels, as the next half-mile section will be dramatically more challenging at moderate-to-high flows.

For this reason, once the dam is removed, the recommended take-out for this section may change.