Construction crews in Hardin County are shifting their focus from the new nature lodge at Steamboat Rock’s Pine Ridge Park to the Iowa River as a major restoration project gets underway. The $1.3 million Iowa River Restoration, Water Recreation, and Safety Project, led by the Hardin County Conservation Board, Iowa DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will gradually remove the Steamboat Rock Dam and replace it with improved habitat, restored streambanks and new recreation features.
The project will open an additional 24 miles of river habitat for fish, particularly flathead catfish, and allow paddlers to float through town without carrying boats around the dam. Removing the dam’s long-standing drowning hazard, linked to two fatalities, is expected to significantly improve safety.
Contractors began dismantling the center of the dam this week, creating a low point to release accumulated sediment downstream in a controlled manner. The phased removal process will continue over the next one to two years until the river flows freely once again.
