COLUMBUS, Ohio – The mayor and officials from the city, state and OSU will be paddling down the Olentangy River Thursday morning to mark the completion of a major reclamation project.
Two years after the removal of the 5th Avenue dam across the river, the project of restoring the river to its natural state along the stretch that flows through the OSU campus area is complete.
Mayor Coleman and others will float on kayaks and canoes past the former dam overlook off the Olentangy Trail just north of 5th Avenue where the event is scheduled.
Accompanying Coleman to the event will be City Council member Zachary Klein, Public Utilities Director Greg Davies, Laura Factor, assistant director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; OSU associate vice president Mary Lynn Readey and Brian Ogle, of Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed.
Removal of the lowhead dam was expected to improve water quality along the stretch of the river from W. 5th Avenue to Lane Avenue, according to Ogle’s organization.