Teen's drowning renews calls to remove Silver Creek Dam

The death of a teenager in a southern Indiana creek has renewed calls to remove the dam where the boy died on Memorial Day.

Andre Edwards Jr., 14, of Clarksville, was playing with friends on Silver Creek Dam downstream of Providence Way about 4 p.m. Monday, said Jim Schreck, spokesman for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Around 4 p.m., Edwards slipped and fell off the dam or jumped into the water, Schreck said. That's when the teen became trapped in the powerful recirculation wave downstream of the dam, he said.

“It seems safe, but you can’t go out,” said Steve Acree, who lives nearby. “You can even drown with a life jacket on.”

Acree told WLKY News he found Edwards' body shortly after the New Albany Police Department called off search and rescue efforts due to darkness and dangerous conditions, including slippery mud along the banks and rushing water caused by recent rains.

“I was probably a little shocked at how young he was,” Acree said.

Today, Acree is angry with the city of New Albany for its efforts to remove the dam, as well as its failure to warn visitors to this popular recreation spot of its dangers. Although interpretive signs include facts about the area's history, no signs warn visitors of the dangers of the water downstream of the dam.

Rather, there is a billboard above the site – with a logo for “The City of New Albany, Indiana” in one corner – showing children playing on the dam, although when the water flows on the dam appears to be nothing more than a trickle.

“If it (the dam) had been removed four years ago and it was not the subject of the lawsuit, it would have disappeared and the young man would still be alive today,” Acree said.

The city of New Albany filed a lawsuit after the Indiana Department of Natural Resources granted permits to the River Heritage Conservancy and a contractor to remove the dam. The River Heritage Conservancy is building the 430-acre Origin Park along the Ohio River, into which Silver Creek flows a little downstream of the dam.

A spokesperson for the River Heritage Conservancy declined to comment for this story, but the group has previously cited safety concerns as well as recreational improvements and ecological restoration as reasons for removing the dam.

Mayor Jeff Gahan's office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Low-head dams like the one at Silver Creek where Edwards drowned are often called “killer dams” or “drowning machines,” according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, a coalition representing industry groups and government agencies .

This is because the constant force of water falling from the dam and landing on itself creates a powerful recirculation system that traps objects inside, according to the association.

Josh Turner, a former New Albany City Council member who advocated for the dam's removal while in office, said Silver Creek Dam is especially dangerous when water levels rise in the creek, as was the case last weekend.

Turner was also distraught to learn of Edwards' death.

“It really broke my heart,” Turner said. “I thought about my children. I have a 7 and 9 year old. Do they know the dangers of a low head dam? There is going to be a discussion about this in our household.”

Turner also hopes the Gahan administration will have a new discussion to rethink its opposition to removing the dam.