IowaOutdoorsDrowningMachine (1)

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36 Iowa outdoors may / june 2009

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Its a terriying way to go.

Trapped below a dam, victims fnd themselves

fghting currents rom both upstream and downstream.

Typically, they are sucked under water, pop back up and

are carried back toward the ace o the dam. This can happen

repeatedly until the victim succumbs.

For many amily members and riends o these victims,

the circumstances seem completely random. In act,

though, drownings at low-head dams are completely

predictable. That is why a low-head dam is commonly

known as The Drowning Machine. In the past 10 years,

low-head dams killed 1.4 Iowans per year. They accounted

or approximately a quarter o the documented drownings

on Iowas rivers during that period.

Low-head dams are where the vast majority o dam-

related deaths occur, not at large reservoir dams with

intimidating outlows. Survivorssay the drop looked tiny,

and the orces at play came as a complete surprise.

Rescue proessionals have known about this hazard

or decades. Translating that knowledge into wider public


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www.Iowadnr.gov 37

STory anD PhoToS by naTe hoogeveen

policy has taken longer. In a 1981 article or the Iowa

Conservationist, written ater a wave o rescue personnel

nationwide drowned while trying to rescue people rom

dams, Water Saety Coordinator Betsy Maleug estimated

that ive Iowans became trapped in dams every year.

There were approximately 30 more low-head dam s on

Iowa streams at the time.

Public education continued through the 1980s and

1990s, but no standard signage system was developed

to warn the public about dams. Dam owners were not

encouraged to post warnings. No inventory o drowning-

hazard dams had been conducted since 1979. No clear

policy toward dams existed, other than to periodically

warn the public.

In 2007, the number o dam-related deaths statewide

spiked to six, catching Iowans attention. In 2 008, the

Iowa General Assembly established the Low-Head Dam

Public Hazard Program, which put into law a program

the Iowa DNR had begun two ye ars prior. The program

provides unds or warning signs, portages around dams


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and cost-sharing to make the structures saer or remove

them where possible.

The legislature also instructed the DNR to launch

a statewide planning process to prioritize water trails

and low-head dam saety with input rom the public and

various experts, including rescue personnel, engineers,

river scientists and fsheries biologists. Dams are beinginventoried or whether they still serve their original

unctions, and or any additional unctions they may perorm.

Beyond saety, a number o issues surround

dams. Many o them limit biological productivity

by separating streams into smaller, less diverse

ecosystems. Then again, some dams act as important

barriers to invasive species. For example, silver carp, a

leaping ish with a voracious appetite, recently invaded

the Missouri River. Dams on the Little Sioux River are

likely the primary reason these ish havent entered

the Iowa Great Lakes system, where they could be

a serious nuisance. Other dams, with the pools they

create, may assist the downstream spread o invasive

zebra mussels.

Other dams back up large reservoirs, such as Red

Rock Lake or Coralville Lake, which serve lood control

and major recreation unctions. Many o them orm

popular local ishing holes.Its sometimes assumed that simply removing dams

is the preerred solution. Maybe, maybe not. Sediments

locked behind the dam may be a problem i released.

Inrastructure like bridges or water supplies may be

upstream. Careul analysis is needed beore settling

on a solution.

In some cases, the best scenario may be re-designing

dams with a rapids downstream, to eliminate the

Drowning Machine eect and restore biological

connections that ish and mussels need to access habitat,

eeding areas and nurseries. This does little or silty pools

38 Iowa outdoors may / june 2009

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www.Iowadnr.gov 39

out of sorrow, survIvors warn of the unknown trap

by ann Cannon

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Ann Cannon formerly

served with Iowa DNRs

AmeriCorps program,

and worked as an

interpreter at Maquoketa

Caves State Park and

as an assistant with the

wildlife diversity program.

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1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

IOWAS DAMRELATED DEATHS, 1999 2008

upstream, but may be the most acceptable solution or a

given community.

Midway through the planning process, it has become

apparent that individual dams will require unique

solutions. In some cases, proposed saety solutions will

be warning signs and other measures such as cabling or

railings. In others, physical modiications to the damswit h accompanying river restoration wil l be preer red.

But its increasingly clear that many communities are

interested in mitigating the hazards and restoring rivers

whe re possible.

Nate Hoogeveen is the River Programs Coordinator

for the Iowa DNR.

Wd l t w t tk. S d s pt f

sttwd pl t http://creekcommunities.design.

iastate.edu/Water_Trails.html.

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IowaOutdoorsDrowningMachine (1)