Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say a dam near the north-central Iowa town of Rockford in needs to be removed or repaired immediately. The D.N.R. recently sent a letter to the Floyd County Conservation Director Doug Schroeder informing him of the problems with the dam on the Shell Rock River.
That’s after the National Weather Service in August warned that the potential was there for the dam to break and other Floyd County officials confirmed that water was undercutting the structure. Schroeder says they are looking further into the D.N.R. report to figure out what action they should take.
The seven-foot dam was constructed in 1872 to power a grist mill located on the river. A portion of the dam is privately owned and underwent repairs in 2004.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City