The Illinois Dam Safety Report, takes a thorough look at 25 run of river dams on Illinois waterways. A run of river dam is a dam with a height less than 25 feet that spans the width of a river and which during normal flow conditions typically has water flowing over the entire dam. Dams alter wildlife habitat by flooding the stream corridor above the dam and change the natural seasonal fluctuations in water level below. These alterations harm fish and wildlife both above and below the dam.

Not only do dams alter the ecosystem and landscape, but they are also extremely dangerous. Nearly every year in Illinois, people accidentally die because of dams. By getting too close, paddlers, waders, fishermen, and other people enjoying time in their local river can easily get sucked into the current and trapped in the hydraulic effect (boil and backwash) dams create.

Read the full Illinois Dam Safety Report here: Dam safety report part 1 (pdf) and Dam safety report part 2 (pdf).

So please remember, BE ALERT when you are on the river
and stay away from low head dams!