ELKHART, Ind. – Construction began on the Elkhart Dam on Friday in order to improve safety and help the river’s ecosystem.

According to our reporting partners at the Elkhart Truth, the process will allow 15 different species of fish to swim upstream.

This will diversify the river and improve the ecosystem in the water.

“They’re blocked by that dam from migrating back upstream, and so I guess the overall goal of this project is to open the Elkhart River back up to the species that have been lost,” said City of Elkhart aquatic biologist Daragh Deegan.

The dam will be lowered from eight to three feet, which will fix significant structural issues that would eventually have caused the dam to fall apart. 

About $1.8 to $2.4 million will be necessary to complete the entire project.