Work is underway to remove an Iowa River dam on the western edge of Steamboat Rock just upriver from the popular Hardin County Pine Ridge park. DNR River Programs Coordinator Nate Hoogeveen says they’re coordinating with the county and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the structure.
Hoogeveen says the $1.3 million project has other benefits.
Hoogeveen says the project includes bank restoration and other features that should make it easier for people to float down the river.
The improved access should draw more anglers.
Hoogeveen says the work is underway, but it could take two years because of the silt and sand built up behind the dam.
He says the speed of the process depends on the flow levels of the water in the river. Hoogeveen says the dam had at one time been used as some sort of mill but was eventually covered in cement.
