Local
Indiana’s 170 low-head dams pose hidden risks to river users
As Indianapolis removes the Emrichsville dam from the White River, roughly 170 low-head dams remain across Indiana. State safety officials warn that their powerful currents can trap people and urge paddlers to wear flotation devices, carry boats around dams and call 911 rather than attempt a water rescue.
INDIANAPOLIS — The removal of the Emrichsville dam from the White River is set to eliminate one dangerous obstacle for people and wildlife, but about 170 low-head dams remain on Indiana’s rivers and creeks, according to a 2025 study in the journal *Water*.
Those structures caused 25 deaths in Indiana between 2010 and 2020, the study found. Their danger can be hard to recognize: water flowing over a low-head dam may form a recirculating current that acts like a horizontal whirlpool, pulling people beneath the surface and keeping them trapped near the structure.
The Emrichsville dam, south of West 16th Street, has been associated with deaths for more than a century. An 8-year-old boy drowned there in 1915. A 17-year-old died after a canoe capsized at the dam in April 2021, and two kayakers drowned there in April 2024.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security says awareness is a key part of staying safe. Before heading out on a river, paddlers should learn where dams are and keep their distance; a current can pose a danger to people traveling either upstream or downstream.
The department advises wearing a life jacket or other flotation device and getting out of a canoe or kayak to carry it around a low-head dam. The structures may look small, but their currents can be deadly even when the river is not at flood stage.
If caught in a dam’s current, a person should tuck their chin to their chest, draw their knees up and wrap their arms around them. Those steps may help the current push them away from the dam and toward the streambed; once free, they should swim to the nearest bank. The department warns that escaping usually requires assistance.
Anyone who sees someone trapped should call 911 and avoid jumping in. A rescuer can be pulled into the same current: the department says more than a quarter of dam-related deaths involve people attempting a rescue. The safest response is to help from shore.