The Potential

Communities similar to Cedarburg across the country and world are experiencing social, environmental, and economic benefits after restoring their rivers. Many towns have decided to remove an obsolete dam, forever ending the taxpayer burden, and allowing their rivers to flow freely once again. These towns are enjoying new benefits, while still honoring their history. They increased economic growth and community benefit by ending tax dollar waste. 

It is a challenging thing to envision a freely flowing Cedar Creek, because no living person has ever seen it.

When non-working, obsolete dams are removed, a lot happens. The river is able to do its job - keep moving and carry its load - and becomes much healthier and much cleaner immediately. The benefits similar towns are experiencing right now would happen here in Cedarburg as well. These include:

• Increased property values

• Increased economic activity at existing local businesses

• New local business creation

• Increased sales tax revenues

• A real riverwalk could be possible (What's occasionally talked about now would be an "impoundment walk")

• Nice natural rapids or waterfalls

• Our kids could take walking school field trips to a clean river in our own city, instead of having to travel somewhere else

• The ability to safely enter our river to swim, wade, explore, play, and cool off

• The ending of a very large taxpayer burden forever

• New recreation opportunities that we do not have now

• Our local tax dollars used for dam repairs would stop leaving our city. Every dollar spent on dam repairs is a dollar that leaves our city, does not come back, and gets us nothing

• More local residents would spend time near our river, and in our downtown

• The city's taxpayer-funded budget would have more money - forever - available for things that do provide a service

• Cedarburg residents could have a new connection to our river that is not present now

• Cedarburg would receive awards and attention that generates a much more far-reaching, far larger audience than any economic development campaign or "Branding Initiative" ever could

• Our Parks & Rec Department could provide new opportunities and generate new revenue

• A new river festival could happen, providing new revenue for our local businesses

• A much healthier environment for wildlife and the enjoyment of experiencing it

This list is not complete. Other towns find there are more benefits that they could not have predicted, and we probably would too. Dexter is a small town in Michigan that looks like Cedarburg's twin. Their river in downtown Dexter, the Huron, does not have the rapid descent that Cedar Creek has in our downtown, but their once unenterable, crummy river is now a new attraction for residents and visitors, and they have not regretted it. Their local economy has increased as a result of obsolete dam removal. Here is a short video about their experience.

Kids need a healthy river to explore. They deserve it. 

If you give a kid a healthy river and a bucket, they will explore and learn for hours. These are foundational experiences that help guide current and future behaviors and interests. Kids need to develop a fascination and respect of our natural world. They need to explore nature and get a little dirty. 

It's not right to spend their parents' money to prevent that from happening in their own town. We can't let "I'm used to seeing a dam there" be the reason because ultimately, it's selfish.