City leaders met today in Warren to work on plans to remove a dangerous dam in the Mahoning River.

They want to get rid of the Summit Street dam, where drownings have taken place over the years.

"It produces a current that is unrelenting, you get caught in that, you're not getting out," Chief Ken Nussle said, with the Warren City Fire Department.

Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle says at least two drownings and some close calls have happened over the past several years.

In 2017, a 12-year-old Austintown girl almost drowned near the dam. In the spring of 2020, police and a bystander helped rescue a 41-year-old woman from the river when her canoe capsized near the dam.

Nussle says he and other firefighters call it the "drowning machine". He believes it's a hazard for those who go to explore the water and the firefighters who are called in if someone becomes trapped in it.

"In many cities across the United States, firefighters have gotten killed themselves trying to rescue people caught in a low head dam," he said.

Members of the engineering committee met Tuesday afternoon to iron out an agreement with the Ohio EPA and Eastgate Regional Council of Governments for removal of the dam.

It's one of several dams that Eastgate has helped to remove along the Mahoning River.

"We're going to open up the pathway to downtown, by opening up that dam, we'll be open to kayakers and canoers," Mark Forte said, city councilman of the fourth ward.

The removal will not cost the city any money. Councilman Forte believes city council will give the agreement their approval at meeting tomorrow night.

With the potential for more people traveling down stream, the goal is for more money flow with them and into the downtown area restaurants and businesses.

The city is working on plans to build a launch for kayaks and canoes in the area behind Packard Park with grant dollars.