Boaters and Residents: Expect Temporary Lower Des Moines River Levels As Crews Remove Flashboards

Press Release

Des Moines, Iowa- Tuesday, November 19, 2024 - Water levels will be noticeably lower on the Des Moines River starting on Thursday, November 21.

The City of Des Moines is scheduled to remove flashboards from the Center Street Dam Friday, November 22, beginning at 7:30 a.m., weather permitting.

Starting on Thursday, November 21, the outflow at the Saylorville Reservoir dam will be adjusted so that City staff can walk on the Center Street Dam to remove the flashboards. After the removal is complete, the outflow at Saylorville Reservoir Dam will be adjusted to fill up and elevate the water level back to normal levels.

Boaters on the Des Moines River and at Birdland Marina should be prepared for lower water levels and how that may affect their activities. Lower river levels are expected to last for 24-36 hours.

The flashboards at the Center Street Dam are removed to mitigate flood risk. The flashboards will be reinstalled when:

• The outflow at Saylorville Reservoir is 4,000 CFS (cubic foot per second) or less, and
• Saylorville Reservoir is at normal pool elevation, so inflow does not exceed outflow, and
• The 2nd Avenue river gauge is at 14.5' or below.

In case of inclement weather, the process will be moved to Tuesday, November 26.

See how the flashboards are removed and learn more about this process from this video of the removal in Spring 2021.