The Fox River is better off without any dam impoundments. According to data collected by the Illinois Natural History Survey during 2002-’03 and reported in the winter issue of its newsletter, areas behind the river’s dams “contain less diverse and more [pollution-]tolerant invertebrate and fish communities than free-flowing sites. Sport fish (smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish) are less abundant in impoundments.” Since a flood took out part of the South Batavia dam in the fall of 2002, “the impoundment has become shallower and flow has greatly increased. Much of the fine sediment previously located in the upstream impoundment has been transported downstream and gravel bars are beginning to form at this site. The invertebrate community is beginning to respond to these changes, and a more diverse fish community was observed at this site during 2003.”
