The Mahoning River looks different in rural Trumbull County. In Mahoning County, people built mills on the riverbank. Here, they built houses.
On a 3.7-mile stretch between county metroparks, the river still flows north before turning south toward Youngstown. Some homeowners appear to be co-existing peacefully with the river, but it has waged war on others, even commandeering docks and boats. Some of the houses look dangerously close to the bank.
The river can rise quickly here, and 鈥渋t likes to rearrange the trees,鈥� said Zachary Svette, Trumbull County MetroParks executive director.
鈥淚n the spring and the fall and during heavy rain events, we go from 3 feet to 10 feet,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been here when it鈥檚 been almost 17.鈥�
Navigating the fallen trees is a fun challenge the first time I kayak this stretch in September 2021. The water is calm and almost black. Tangles of seaweed wrap themselves around my paddles.
I鈥檓 only on the water for a few minutes before I see a handwritten sign nailed to a tree.
鈥淔riends of the Mahoning, You are no longer welcome here. You want the dam GONE. We want YOU GONE. DON鈥橳 COMEBACK.鈥�
For the first time, I feel unwelcome on the river.
___
Unlike where I grew up in Mahoning County, Leavittsburg residents feel a deep connection to the river. They鈥檝e lived near it or played on it for generations.
In the early 1900s, across from what鈥檚 now Canoe City MetroPark, was one of the biggest businesses in the city. It had rides, a penny arcade, and food stands selling hot waffles, candy and peanuts. There were regattas and swim meets. Visitors spending the summer there could rent cottages near the park 鈥� it followed the river for about three-quarters of a mile.
To get around, visitors could take a water taxi or rent row boats or canoes. Swimmers could visit the bathhouse to clean up before heading to the dance hall.
A dam built in the early 1900s creates the deep pool of calm water here. Mahoning Park may be gone, but it鈥檚 still great for fishing. And it鈥檚 the only place along the river where people can enjoy pontoon boats.
Now, those trying to restore the river say the dam in Leavittsburg should go 鈥� and the dam鈥檚 owner, the Trumbull County MetroParks, agrees. But residents want it to stay, and they鈥檙e angry with those who want to demolish it.
鈥淵eah, we noticed the signs when we first moved here, and we鈥檝e been here for five years,鈥� said Julia Shutt, a Leavittsburg resident who lives at the edge of where the rust-colored waters of Chocolate Run Creek flow into the Mahoning River.
鈥淎nd basically there鈥檚 a tension between the people that want the dam to stay and the people that don鈥檛,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭he people that don鈥檛 are the river paddling groups, the kayaking clubs, etc. 鈥� They鈥檙e expressing their opinion about what鈥檚 happening. I think it鈥檚 a way to vent. But it鈥檚 also a helpless feeling because clearly, I do believe it鈥檚 going to happen, and it鈥檚 out of our control.鈥�
Shutt, a landscape designer, and her husband, Byron, an architect, grow organic vegetables on their nearly 5-acre property. There鈥檚 something interesting everywhere you look: a natural pool next to a patio with an outside bathtub, benches crafted from stone, rocking chairs overlooking the river. While we鈥檙e walking the property, I nearly step on a frog.
鈥淲e鈥檝e decided it鈥檚 almost like living in a Disney film,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much wildlife. We have red-shouldered hawks. We have like six different types of woodpeckers, five or six different types of ducks that migrate through or hang out. We have bald eagles, river otters, beavers, mink, gophers, fox...鈥�
There are really two dams in Leavittsburg, but only one is visible. It was once used to create hydroelectric power, but it doesn鈥檛 serve any purpose now. It just impedes water flow and poses a danger to paddlers. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 one of the dams the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments would like removed as part of its .
While demolishing a dam could mean more economic development in places like Warren and Youngstown, Warren Township Trustee Edward Anthony said Leavittsburg doesn鈥檛 have anywhere to develop along its flat, residential floodplain.
鈥淪o, the big question from all of us is, so why are you doing it if our waters never been cleaner?鈥� Anthony said. 鈥淭he wildlife has never been stronger. The fishing has never been better. And we're not going to get any development on this. 鈥� How is this going to benefit us at all, and our residents? ... No one, nobody, whether it's Eastgate, whether it's Trumbull Metro, whether it's anyone has given me an answer to that, and I鈥檝e attended like 16-18 meetings.鈥�
After months of public discussion, in April of last year, the MetroParks board voted to take the steps necessary to remove the dam.
鈥淢y board is ultimately responsible just for the dam and the safety of the folks using the park,鈥� Svette said. 鈥淲hile there鈥檚 a lot of stuff on the periphery that we鈥檙e aware of but, ultimately, my board has to focus on what their responsibilities are, and they made that decision on removing the dam and going after the grant funds.鈥�
The dam is the biggest liability to the MetroParks, costing about $1,000 in insurance out of its $120,000 budget. In January, the board learned they鈥檇 been awarded $3.2 million to remove the dam from a fund administered by the Ohio EPA, the same fund that helped pay for dam removal in Struthers and Lowellville.
When the dam comes out, the water level will drop. Anthony says it might be only six or eight inches deep in some spots. That means what鈥檚 been underwater all these years will become visible from the backyards of the 400 homes along the river.
鈥淲e know from a cleanup they did years and years ago that they had appliances down there,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know they're down there. There's probably the same thing that they incurred years ago, which was washers, dryers. They found a car. So, there is a lot of debris that is down there.鈥�
Who鈥檚 going to clean up the mess? Svette said it will be the responsibility of the property owners 鈥� many of whom don鈥檛 want the dam to come down in the first place. And to them, something else stinks about this plan.
There are pipes draining raw sewage directly into the river. Right now, the water level is too high to see them. The county is under a consent decree to provide sanitary sewer service to the area. But it鈥檚 a big job, and the dam could come down first. The person in charge of bringing sanitary sewer to the area is Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer Gary Newbrough.
鈥淚've been in touch with Trumbull County MetroParks, and I let them know my schedule, and it is my intent to get the sewer project in as soon as possible, so that we won't have a problem with the dam coming out before sanitary sewer service is available,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I can't guarantee I'm going to have all that sewer in by this exact date. There are just too many variables out there right now. All I can do is give them my best estimate.鈥�
Newbrough said his office could put extensions on the pipes, so they won鈥檛 be seen. But many residents aren鈥檛 satisfied with that. Executive director Svette said there鈥檚 still a lot of negativity out there.
鈥淚 think the acceptance and you know, moving forward will come after the dam is removed, and after they see that there's still going to be water flowing through the river,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t's very hard, especially around here for folks, is the change.鈥�
Homeowner Julia Shutt doesn鈥檛 seem to fear change. She said she can imagine the dam removal being a good thing ultimately, opening up the area to more recreation and business associated with that. She works with the river on the Disney film-like flood plain where she lives, and she can work with those taking the dam too, as long as certain conditions are met.
鈥淚 want to make sure that what's exposed is taken care of properly and responsibly,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I don't want to have to do it all myself. I want the people that are involved in this removal, to take responsibility for what they exposed to us, the happy homeowners of Leavittsburg and Warren Township.鈥�
There鈥檚 still time to figure out what happens after the dam comes down. Svette said the district is still looking for a sponsor for the project, and the design work hasn鈥檛 yet begun.
Dam removal will not start before early 2024.
___
This summer I go back to Leavittsburg to kayak the stretch between metroparks. The signs are still there, but they鈥檝e faded, like many residents鈥� will to fight the dam removal. As a paddler, I am glad the river will run freer and faster when the dam comes down. But I鈥檓 also from the Mahoning Valley, so I know what some call progress others call loss.
I鈥檓 OK with not feeling welcome here.
This project was possible because support from The Research Council of Kent State University.
