Dam Mitigation Projects

Low-head dams are extremely dangerous and have led to fatalities of Iowa anglers, boaters, paddlers, tubers, swimmers, and would-be rescuers. Powerful recirculating hydraulics at these small dams can trap and drown unsuspecting river users. 

Iowa DNR educates all river users about these hazards, provides support for dam-owners to install warning signs in vicinities of dams, and works with dam owners to mitigate safety hazards and fish passage barriers at dams.

Iowa's Plan for Dam Mitigation

This 2020 low-head dam mitigation map is a handy tool to find actual projects completed or underway.

Dam Mitigation Manual

• Intro: Introduction and Table of Contents
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The 2010 River Dam Inventory
• Chapter 3: Dams and River Ecology
• Chapter 4: Mitigation Alternatives
• Chapter 5: Strategies, Plan of Action, Bibliography, Appendices

Technical Assistance for Dam Mitigation

For dam owners or their partners interested in reducing safety hazards and fish passage barriers at their dams, Iowa DNR offers assistance at different stages of a project. Examples include:

• Dam warning signage system design (and in some cases, installation)
• Community open house input
• Concept development in the early phases of project
• River channel survey
• Assistance with developing RFPs, finding funding
• River restoration design
• Project management assistance
• Permitting and regulatory compliance assistance
• Bid document assistance

Please fill out the application form. Our staff will review it and contact you soon.

• Application for DNR River Programs Dam Mitigation Technical Assistance 

Past Dam Mitigation Projects

Buffalo Creek Dam Removal  & Rapids Construction

• Completion Date: January 2018
• $370,060 in dam mitigation grants and technical assistance

Linn County Conservation decided to remove the dam at Coggon after sedimentation had significantly reduced the upstream impoundment and evidence showed that declining mussel populations could rebound if the stream were reconnected. The dam was reduced in stages over two years to reduce impacts of sediment movement. A small, fish-passable rapids was constructed to stabilize the area.

Mason City Willow Creek Dam No. 3 Removal

• Completion Date: December 2017
• $50,000 in dam mitigation grants and technical assistance

The third in a series of dam mitigation projects on Willow Creek within East Park, the dam was removed improve safety in the park and improve recreational opportunities.

Project: Manchester Whitewater Park

• Begin Date: September 2014
• Completion Date: Summer of 2015
• DNR Involvement: Provided a $200,000 Dam Mitigation Grant

Construction began in September of 2014 on the $1.8 million project. The new whitewater facility was funded in part by a $200,000 dam mitigation grant from the Iowa DNR. The whitewater park stimulates the local economy through increased use from paddlers, anglers and outdoor recreationalists including families who come down to picnic and watch at water’s edge. New local businesses rent out kayaks and inner tubes to tourists. Iowa's second whitewater park is another example of what can be done by removing or modifying low-head dams.

Goldfield Dam to Rapids Conversion/Shell Rock River

• Begin Date: May 2014 
• Completion Date: August 2014 
• DNR Involvement: $35,112 Mitigation Grant

A project to convert a former low-head dam into a small rock-arch rapids was completed in August, 2014. The project improved fish passage, navigation opportunities, angling access, and helped to stabilize eroding bluffs and create fish habitat upstream with three j-hook vanes. Iowa DNR supplied $35,112 in dam mitigation grants, and DNR mitigation staff assisted with project management, design, and construction supervision. Citizen donations and city funds covered the remainder of the $70,000 total project cost.

Quasqueton Dam Removal

• Completion Date: August 2014
• DNR Involvement: $68,000 Dam Removal Grant and Design

Contractors completed the project to convert the Quasqueton Dam into a rock arch rapids in late August. The project is on the Wapsipinicon River Water Trail in Buchanan County. DNR low-head dam mitigation grants of $68,000 and technical / design support helped make this project possible. 

Formerly, this dam led to situations like this rescue caught on video: Quasqueton Dam Rescue, 1993 

Elkader Whitewater Feature & Canoe Passage

• Begin Date: Fall of 2013
• Completion Date: Spring of 2014
• DNR Involvement: $9,000 Dam Mitigation Grant

The Elkader Whitewater Feature and canoe passage was made possible by a strong local support system and with the help of a $9,000 dam mitigation grant from the Iowa DNR. “The Gobbler’, a standing wave feature, is proving to be a safe and challenging wave for play boaters. A canoe passage makes it easy for boaters to avoid the wave if they wish to just paddle past it.

Boone Waterworks Dam to Rapids

• Completion Date: April 2014
• DNR Involvement: $184,000 Mitigation Grant, Design and Construction

It was a long winter of construction, but the Boone Waterworks Dam to Rapids Conversion project on the Des Moines River was completed in April of 2014.

Rockford Dam Removal

• Completion Date: May 2014
• DNR Involvement: $30,000 Dam Mitigation Grant, Stream Restoration and Plantings

The Rockford Dam on the Shell Rock River was removed in 2014. Stream bank restoration immediately followed and has restored the river to a healthy habitat and improved navigation on a scenic part of the Shell Rock River for both paddlers and anglers.