Description

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources provides technical assistance to dam owners, managers, and partners interested in reducing safety hazards and fish-movement barriers on Iowa rivers. Low-head dams can create powerful recirculating currents that trap and drown river users and rescuers. The program supports warning signs, public education, and locally acceptable mitigation concepts for dams that have deteriorated, no longer serve their original functions, or are too hazardous to maintain.

Assistance spans early planning through implementation, including community input, river-channel surveys, restoration design, project management, permitting, and bid documents. Iowa’s statewide dam-mitigation plan emphasizes solutions that address public safety alongside river connectivity, habitat, recreation, infrastructure needs, and local concerns. Mitigation can include removal, stabilization, conversion to rapids, or other approaches suited to the site.