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DNR hires consultant to consider changes to Palisades-Kepler State Park dam
Ohio company will evaluate the dam, conduct public input sessions, propose possible changes to Cedar River low-head dam
Mar. 19, 2025 5:30 am, Updated: Mar. 19, 2025 7:39 am
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is beginning work on plans to update the low-head dam on the Cedar River at Palisades-Kepler State Park in Mount Vernon.
Last week, the Natural Resource Commission approved a contract with Stantec Consulting Services of Ohio to conduct a study and engineer a solution that could include either removing or lowering the deteriorating dam.
“If you go down there and take a photo, you'll see a very old, crumbling structure that has a large breach in it across the river,” said Nate Hoogeveen, the DNR’s river programs coordinator. “It's an area that is in need of care.”
According to a document presented to the Natural Resource Commission, the project “aims to reduce the number of on-water incidents” on the river while “preserving important aquatic conservation needs” at the park.
Hoogeveen said any modifications to the dam, which extends fully across the river, would consider both recreational and environmental needs.
“It's a really popular fishing area because a lot of different fish species are present,” Hoogeveen said. DNR documents note the park is “one of the most prolific sturgeon spawning areas in North America.”
Low-head dams known as ‘drowning machines’
The park’s dam also can be hazardous, especially when the water is high.
“Usually in the late summer, when a lot of people like to go wading around, the water is sometimes flowing pretty fast still along the bluffs,” he said. “People may lose their footing or maybe swim out a little deeper than they expect to … we've had a number of rescue operations in that area as a result.”
In 2022, 11-year-old Zyah Thomas drowned in the river after she and her brother were swept away from shore by a current while swimming with family at the park. Between 1995 and 2011, there were eight reported drownings at Palisades-Kepler State Park according to previous reporting by The Gazette.
Low-head dams are often referred to as "drowning machines" due to the hazard they pose to swimmers and other people recreating on rivers. The dams are built so that water flows continuously over them, but that water flow can create a dangerous reverse current below the dam that can pull people under the water and can be difficult to escape, according to the National Weather Service.
“We are really hoping that this can be a much safer area,” Hoogeveen said.
DNR will seek public input during planning
Hoogeveen said it’s too early to discuss what engineers will propose for changes to the dam, but it will involve “at least reducing the height of the dam.” He said the DNR also may choose to create rapids across a piece of the river.
The next step will be an “alternative analysis” by Stantec to determine what could replace the dam or how to modify it most efficiently.
“We're going to look at all these different factors, plus whether there could be some flood benefits for people upstream of the state park if we allow more water through that area,” he said. “Essentially, in other words, by lowering the dam, you're letting more water through.”
Hoogeveen said any construction for the project is “still several years down the road,” but the first public input meeting will be within the next few months, likely around late spring or early summer.
He said the department is “very open” to hearing what the public has to say and that they “want to do this in partnership with our local friends” in Eastern Iowa.
“The consultants will be analyzing a lot of physical data, like looking at the river conditions,” Hoogeveen said. “So, they'll be able to tell people a lot about the river, the conditions of the dam up front, and to help them understand our goals a little bit better.”
Not yet knowing what the project will entail, Hoogeveen estimated it could cost $1 million to $2.5 million. The first phase of the project — consultation and engineering — will be paid for by the DNR, using the state marine fuel tax. The cost, according to Natural Resource Commission documents, is $318,866 contract as first reported by Radio Iowa.
Hoogeveen said the DNR will seek funding from the federal government and the private sector to pay for construction when the time comes.
“I don't see doing this project for less than a million dollars. It's a big river. It's a big dam. It's at a very scenic area,” he said. “In other words, we still have to make sure we're doing it right and allocating the right amount of resources to it.”
Hoogeveen said they also are looking to add some new recreational amenities for fishers, sunbathers and swimmers “while also preserving some of the really important ecological benefits that the area already has.”
“It's a very popular recreation area for folks living in both Linn and Johnson counties, so we want to preserve as much of that as possible,” he said. “In the end, we want it to be a project that everybody is very satisfied with. Palisades Kepler is a really, really important state park. It serves a lot of people, so we don't want to get this wrong. We want that input to help us make it better.”
Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
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Comments: olivia.cohen@thegazette.com
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