Des Moines Water Works raises flashboards on Raccoon River

Des Moines Water Works has raised the flashboards on the low head dam on the Raccoon River because of low river levels.

Boaters (kayakers and canoeists) need to be aware of this low-head dam and the portage trail around it. Signs in Des Moines Water Works Park are posted to warn of this and for boater safety.

The flashboards, large metal gates, raise water levels in the area around the intake to the Fleur Drive Treatment Plant. The intake is the location where water is drawn into the treatment plant from the river. The water held back by the flashboards also helps to replenish the water in the gallery system, an underground water system that runs alongside the river.

During a drought, river levels must be manually controlled when possible. The flashboards are critical to enhancing water quantity at the intake during drought conditions.

Water levels and flow on the Raccoon River continue to decrease. The flow rate was down to about 150 cubic feet per second compared to the median 877 cubic feet per second prior to this morning’s rain.