City submits new plan to bring Grand River rapids back

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Documents have been submitted in a plan to put the rapids back in Grand Rapids.

The city and nonprofit Grand Rapids Whitewater submitted a permit application Wednesday to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for a plan that would create fast-moving parts of the Grand River. It’s a modified design for the Grand River restoration project.

State and federal regulators opposed a plan last year that would have brought back the whitewater rapids. The new plan was tweaked after a series of design iterations by the city and the nonprofit along with feedback from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and EGLE.

In the new proposal, crews would restore the rapids to the lower reach of the river, from 300 feet upstream of Bridge Street down to Fulton Street, by removing four dams and putting rocks and boulders in the river.

Advocates have argued that rapids would boost tourism and allow for recreation, like casual whitewater paddling, tubing and floating. They also argue it would make for better fishing, with the faster waters allowing more fish to come through.

Last week, city commission accepted a $7 million state grant for the river revitalization project as well as a $1.55 million contract with a group that will help relocate the area’s endangered mussel population to a another part of the river.

Following Wednesday’s submission, the formal review process begins. If the permit is approved the city expects main construction in the river would start in the summer of 2025 and wrap up by that October.

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