Headwater Dam Removals and Modifications on the White River: Sediment Response, Habitat Recovery, and Community Outcomes
David Heilman, PLA
FlatLand Resources, LLC
Muncie, IN
Authors: Shawn Kilpatrick, P.Eng., Brian Wong, P.Eng.
Starting 2019, the White River in Muncie, Indiana entered a new chapter of its storied existence as the first of several long-standing low-head dams were removed or modified. Once essential to the city’s manufacturing economy, these structures had become obsolete barriers that fragmented habitat, altered sediment transport, and limited safe public recreation of the river. Guided by a 2016 community led feasibility study and supported by national, state, and local partners, two dams were removed and two more modified between 2019 and 2021, reconnecting over 37 miles of the mainstem river and hundreds of miles of tributaries.
About David Heilman, PLA
David Heilman is a Professional Landscape Architect and Project Manager with fourteen plus years of experience in community-based project design and execution. He has spent the last nine years working across the states of Indiana and Ohio on 19 dam removal and modification projects. From grant writing to community engagement, permitting, and demolition/construction, David and the team at FlatLand Resources engage in every aspect of the project. A graduate of the Ball State University Landscape Architecture Department, David enjoys engaging with communities (both of the human and aquatic varieties) on projects to greatly improve their quality of life.
