Removal of the Klondike Dam on the Big Sioux River is
continuing apace, and there is marked progress since my observation last
month.
This morning, Dave Finck met me for coffee and drove us out
to the Klondike site to observe any change since our last trip. It was a cold morning under
overcast skies, and we arrived at the construction site on the South Dakota
side of the Big Sioux River about 9:00 a.m.
A crew of three equipment operators was at work removing the
remaining portion of the low-head dam and filling in rock across the course of
the river. Already, a slot through
the accumulating rock is apparent, and river is flowing through this shallow
area and on downstream under the continuous ice cover to the south.
Looking at the rock fill that is being used to replace the
dam and provide a deeper pool upstream, I wondered what it would be like to zip
through in a kayak. I was reminded
of the rock fill that is in the Big Sioux River flowing beneath the bicycle
trail bridge in Sioux Falls. That
passage is also filled with quartzite rock and creates a set of rapids. When that section of the river is high
and flowing fast, passage through the rapids seems to result in few incidents. When it is low, however, there are
enough hazards to cause me to feel a sense of anxiety when approaching that
slot. I suspect that the rapids
created with the rock fill at Klondike will be somewhat similar.
Hopefully, there will be an easy portage past these rapids,
either on the Iowa or the South Dakota side. Even now, though, most cruises either end on the Iowa side
above the old dam or begin on the South Dakota side downstream from the old
dam. The project manager assured
me during a visit on site last month that there would be a portage developed,
and I got the impression that it would be on the South Dakota side.
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| Dave Finck on the Klondike Bridge over the Big Sioux River |
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