The City Wants to Put The Rapids Back Into Grand Rapids

The city of Grand Rapids orginally got our name because of the Grand River and it's raging rapids that run through the middle of the city.

But, in the late 1800's the city decided to slow down the river with a series of dams in order to make it safer for people to be near. Previously, the raging rapids would claim lives of inexperienced boaters, fishers and swimmers.

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Now, the Grand Rapids WhiteWater group is pushing city leaders to reconsider returning the rapids to their original speed and glory. They say their mission is to 'Revitalize the rapids in the Grand River', and it seems like the city is taking them seriously.

They are in talks to implement a plan that would have the rapids closer to their original glory by October 2025. They say that the project won’t bring back the whitewater rapids as we saw them back in the 1800's, but it would create faster-moving and slower-moving areas of the river, as well as some rapids features. They would do this by removing four dams and installing thousands of pounds of rocks and boulders in the river, to create a more natural flow.

We should know soon if this plan will move forward, since they say on their own website that they hoped to start construction on this project over a year ago. While this seems like great plan, some people say they're concerned that it could be dangerous for people who wander into the waters after they're sped back up.

Either way, It would pretty cool to see some raging rapids alongside Grand Rapids yet again.