Remember the Kalamazoo River project? It's still in the works, but the concrete is still there.

Battle Creek can see the economic benefits of having the Kalamazoo River downtown. 

They also believe they can't fully realize them because the river is in a concrete channel installed in the early 1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent flooding downtown. 

The concrete channel extends from just south of Fountain Street to the confluence with the Battle Creek River near Hamblin Avenue.

The city, and others, want the channel replaced by a more natural-looking, visually appealing alternative that would prevent floods and invite people to enjoy the river.

"From an environmental point of view, it would certainly be the right thing to do for the river, but the flip side of that is that it's an economic development asset that we need to utilize," Assistant City Manager Ted Dearing said. "We've got this nice river running through here, and this really ugly channel that's an economic development barrier for us right now."

The city has reached out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to see if they can help.

"We are going to be requesting some initial funding to make a federal interest determination on this project," U.S. Army Corps Outreach Coordinator Jim Luke said. 

An initial $100,000 from the federal government would go first towards covering the cost of the determining whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to take on the project.

If the federal government decides that it is interested, the next phase would be a feasibility study. Costs for the feasibility study beyond that initial $100,000 would be split equally between the federal and city governments.

If it were to get to the next phase of design and implementation, the federal government would provide 75 percent of the cost up to $10 million, with the city providing the remaining 25 percent.

In 2011, a federal determination was made against modifying the channel in place because there were no alternatives at the time that could prevent flooding like the concrete. 

"Basically the Corps said, in this contained area you have for the river right now...you could not naturalize this river and maintain flood control,"  Dearing said. 

But now the city wants the Corps to take a look at the channel again because the parameters could change. 

And city leaders have an idea of how it might work. 

The city is currently in discussions with the Michigan Department of Transportation about the transfer of Dickman Road to the city. The river now flows alongside the road, but the city would like to see Dickman rerouted so the river channel could be expanded.

"This creates an opportunity for us to naturalize this river because we now have potentially additional space to widen the river," Dearing said.

MDOT and the city will meet again in mid-March to discuss the transfer. 

MDOT Spokesman Nick Schirripa said it's too early to say how much of Dickman Road could be transferred to the city and if and what kind of work would be done to the road before that transfer.

Dearing stressed that these discussions are preliminary. 

"In order for us to really fulfill our vision as a vibrant downtown, we need to address this Kalamazoo River channel," he said. 

Meanwhile, the folks behind Battle Creek Whitewater, a nonprofit created a few years ago by local attorney John Macfarlane and others, are still trying to stir up support for a project to remove the concrete channel. 

The group created a petition "to encourage the city commission to support and promote the project," Macfarlane said. "We want the city commission to understand that there is really deep and broad community support for the river restoration." 

Battle Creek Whitewater's plan calls for a public park along the river and the creation of a whitewater course.

"While it certainly is true that we have protected the downtown area from flooding, we have created a whole new problem which is the infliction of this horrible scar on the landscape," Macfarlane said. "We have deprived ourselves of the beauty and the benefits from having this natural river flow through our downtown."

A study done by the engineering firm PEA Inc. for Battle Creek Whitewater showed a new design that would protect against flooding to the same extent as the concrete channel.

"The PEA study says it is clear we can have both: We can have a very attractive riverfront and at the same time we can protect the downtown area from flooding," Macfarlane said.

The plan hasn't been adopted by the city. The Corps had meetings with Battle Creek Whitewater in the past, but a formal review of the plan hasn't been submitted.

A modification to the channel could be proposed to the Corps, but then the federal government wouldn't cover any of the cost.

"We would make sure it could still handle the flood flow and it didn’t have any negative impact on the environment and safety," Corps Levee Safety Program Manager Tina Kowitz said.

Contact Kalea Hall at (269) 966-0697 or khall@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bykaleahall.