Missouri Dams Causing Problems
Local News
by
Jeff Rusack
last edited on
Sunday, July 17, 2011
After a tubing trip down the Big Sioux River turns deadly, some people question the need for any of the dams along the river.
Seventeen-year-old Andrew Hanneman went over a dam near Baltic on Monday.
One Dell Rapids resident wants all man-made dams removed.
Sharon Kelly says, “We have lots of dams like these low-head dams in South Dakota that need to be taken out.”
Kelly, the former vice president of the South Dakota Canoe and Kayak Association believes that the dam Andrew Hanneman went over on a tube last weekend didn’t need to be there.
Kelly says, “We had one loss here we had one loss at Belle Fourche in a canoe accident. It’s time to say no more. That’s the end of life on a South Dakota river.”
Sharon Kelly says the water at the bottom of a dam creates a hydraulic effect and traps anything that goes in it.
He says, “You get sucked in. It’s just a rolling action and there’s boulders and everything else in and there’re and logs all this and it keeps beating you up. You’ll come up two or three times.”
If the dams aren’t taken out Kelly thinks boulders should be placed at the base of dams to allow a more gradual progression of water, which would make it easier for canoes and kayak to pass over.
Kelly says, “This isn’t all about just doing canoeing and kayaking. It’s about river safety in general, and it can be done at minimal cost.”
Kelly just wants people to enjoy the rivers, without the fear of drowning.
He says, “I hope the governor, our Congress people, local legislatures would get involved to make these rivers extremely safe for people to enjoy.”
One life has already been taken by the Big Sioux River but Sharon Kelly thinks some dam changes could make a big difference, and keep an innocent death from happening again.
Kelly believes if dams must remain on the Big Sioux, more signs should alert boaters and tubers about the dangers of dams.