Linn County gives new life to rivers by removing over 20 dangerous dams

COGGON — Water dances around the rocks and ice in Buffalo Creek not far from Coggon.

Where once stood a roughly 10-feet-tall concrete wall — one of the state’s more than 200 dangerous low-head dams — a stretch of rock arch rapids remains, providing safe passage to recreationists and wildlife alike.

With the repositioning of a few boulders at the former dam’s site and a final walk-through in late November, officials with Linn County Conservation declared the approximately three-year dam mitigation project complete.

With the Buffalo Creek Dam gone, the county now is shifting focus to possible modification or mitigation of Pinicon Ridge Dam near Central City.

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/linn-county-rivers-dangerous-dams-buffalo-creek-coggon-linn-county-conservation-wildlife-recreation-iowa-dnr-public-safety-20181207