A grassroots initiative to bring the rapids back to the Grand River and establish a whitewater kayaking and canoeing park from Riverside Park through downtown Grand Rapids is moving ahead, carried by a current of community support.
Grand Rapids White Water is the brainchild of Chip Richards, who invited other board members, including Chris Muller. Muller returned to Grand Rapids after five years in Washington D.C. He missed the thrill of whitewater kayaking on the Potomac, which was easily accessible because of "park and play" areas.
"After work, I'd go home and get my boat and within an hour I'd be paddling some great whitewater," he says. "But on the Grand it's really too dangerous to go over the Fourth Street dam (also known as the Sixth Street dam) by
Fish Ladder Park, so you can't go from
Riverside Park and end up down by
Grand Valley (State University)."
Between Leonard and Fulton streets the rapids drop 18 feet – 13 of that is at the dam – but the dam and the deep backwater cover the rapids.
Sharing the river with other enthusiasts who use it for recreational activities such as water skiing, fishing, and crewing, is an important piece of GRWW 's vision, says Chip Richards. Those activities can only happen if the dam remains intact. GRWW has worked with the West Michigan Steelheaders Association to make sure the dam remains in place.
GRWW proposes adding artificial whitewater features by modifying the
five low head dams downstream of the Fish Ladder to create what
whitewater thrill seekers call eddy lines, holes and standing waves.
A preliminary engineering special study,
Grand River Whitewater Park Preferred Alternative, was prepared by
Green Grand Rapids to investigate the benefits and challenges of a whitewater park in Grand Rapids.
GRWW is in the process of becoming a nonprofit organization. Once that's complete, the organization will hire an engineering firm to conduct a feasibility study that includes an environmental impact study.
"The defined item we’re trying to create is a whitewater park that includes park and play," Muller says. He envisions a whitewater park generating economic activity for nearby restaurants, pubs and shops.
"It would bring a lot to Grand Rapids in addition to being a cool place to live," he says. "The city is named after the river, but it's not there to be usable."
Source: Chris Muller and Chip Richards, Grand Rapids White Water
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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