River/Stream: Des Moines River
Location: Des Moines, Polk County
Latitude: 41.5916856185092
Longitude: -93.6187043360286
Built: 1917
Owner: City of Des Moines
Height: 15 ft.
Length: 364 ft.
Hazards: drownings, urban, portage, visibility
Portage: none
Warning Signs: City has worked to improve signage
Comments: cabling above dam has been utilized by power boaters. New cabling and signage installed late 2009.
Documented Fatalitites: 16
- June 11, 2011, Dax Bell, swam into boil below the dam
- June 30, 2009, boater Alan Neely, dramatic video of wife's rescure
- July, 1996, boater Mark Fetters
- May 10, 1982, Larry Clark, rafting
- May 30, 1960, Elaine Long, boating (self rescue cables knocked out by spring floods)
- July 4, 1935, William Halloran & Collins Carson, rowboat swept over dam
- June 15, 1908, Edwin Ebersole & William Jennings, boat swept over dam
- August 1, 1907, Mr & Mrs William Powell, their son Hal, Mrs JF Stevens & baby boy, boat over dam after motor failure
- June 17, 1902, Eugene Tiernan, fell in while attempting to pull out driftwood near powerhouse
- April 28, 1900, Johnny Lyons, attempted to walk across the dam
