The Mahoning River on Display

The Youngstown Iron and Steel Co. Dam, once located here in Lowellville on the Mahoning River, was built between 1914 and 1915. It was made of concrete and had eight short piers with square ends on the upstream side and pointed ends on the downstream side. A small triangle concrete abutment stood at each end of the dam. The crest of the weir allowed water to flow over and appeared to be composed of poured concrete with thick timbers resembling railroad ties placed on top to give the dam additional lift. In 2020, the dam was removed to improve river quality. Dams harm river systems by barring fish migration, reducing fish population, creating sediment traps, and harming water quality, flow regime, and the food web. Removing the dam restores the Mahoning River as a natural free-flowing river, improves the aquatic habitat in the river's substrate, and enables the habitat to thrive again so that plants and animals can grow and reproduce.

Lowellville, Ohio · United States