GRAND RAPIDS (WZZM) - Efforts to tear down or modify five dams along the Grand River got a financial boost today.
The Downtown Development Authority unanimously granted the group, Grand Rapids White Water, $100,000 towards engineering and environmental studies.
Grand Rapids White Water Co-founder Chip Richards describes the project as a river rapid restoration project. Richards says it will improve the habitat for native species and improve fishing along the Grand River.
Opponents say the opposite claiming the salmon and steelhead fishery will decline without the dams and so will the revenue that it generates.
The project's cost is estimated at $27.5 million. The goal is to complete the project in 2014.