Free the Falls, a project to remove the Gorge Dam in Summit County, officially began Aug. 28, following years of discussion on the matter, according to an official statement from Gov. Mike DeWine. The dam, located in the northeastern Ohio city of Cuyahoga Falls, sits on the Cuyahoga River and was built in 1913.
The dam is 58 feet tall and 425 feet wide and was initially built to produce hydroelectric power. However, the dam was a fairly ineffective source due to the Cuyahoga’s smaller size, according to Mike Johnson, Chief of Conservation at Metro Parks in Summit County.
The dam ceased producing hydroelectric power by 1958 and was later used to provide cooling water for a nearby coal-fired power plant until 1992…