Boise River diversion dams can be deadly | Boise, Garden City, Mountain Home | Idaho Statesman
It's called a "keeper hole," and it can be one of your worst nightmares if you fall off your raft or inner tube into one at any of the diversion dams on the Boise River - particularly the Thurman Mill diversion dam near Quinn's Pond.
A keeper hole has more than just powerful undertow.
"It can take you under and spin you around like a washing machine," said Chris Crawford, who spends hundreds of hours on the Boise River each summer.
Some swim or get flushed out. Others never make it.
A Garden City woman who was flipped out of her inner tube at the Thurman Mill diversion dam Sunday was trapped in the current for several minutes. Cassie Conley, 20, never regained consciousness and died at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center Wednesday.
Conley's family members, who plan to donate her organs, hope their tragic loss will serve as a cautionary tale.
Some say the undertow of the Thurman Mill dam is much stronger than the upstream dams between Barber Park and Ann Morrison Park, but Boise Fire Dive Rescue Captain Noel Rios doesn't agree.
"You can't really say that one is more dangerous than the other. They're all equally dangerous," Rios said.
He says a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device can be a lifesaver if you're thrown into the water at the dams. Educating yourself on the river is key, he said.
"Kayakers always walk the river before they go down. They always go and scout it out," Rios said. "The biggest danger is getting on the river and not ever having seen it before - that's a big hazard."
TOO DANGEROUS FOR MOST BOATERS
The Boise Fire dive team has been dispatched three times in the past two weeks to the Thurman Mill diversion dam. Crawford said it's a hazardous area that those familiar with the river avoid, unless they're in larger rafts or kayaks.
"You're really not supposed to float that section of the river," said Crawford, organizer of Boise River Volunteers.
Paul and Lisa Walsh of Meridian floated the section for the first time last August, just to scope it out. On their inaugural trip, they rescued a man who was churned about in the keeper hole at Thurman Mill diversion dam seven times.
"I had taken a rope safety class a couple days before," Paul Walsh said. "I threw the rescue rope, and it landed right on his shoulder. ... My wife pulled him in.
"The very next day, a fisherman went upside down in that same location," Walsh said. That man was rescued by passersby.
THE AREA WILL BE SAFER - BUT NOT FOR A WHILE
The Thurman Mill diversion dam will be dug out as part of construction of the Ray Neef M.D. River Recreation Park. The dam will be replaced by a big inflatable rubber bladder - and it should be safer for floaters.
"We're going to be able to manage the hydraulics," said Tom Governale, Boise parks superintendent. "It's not going to be a keeper wave ... We're going to create a wave that basically will push you out."
Construction on the new dam was originally slated to begin this fall, but it's been delayed until spring 2012. Friends of Parks is working to raise the $4 million needed for the first phase of the $6.7 million river park.
In the meantime, Walsh and others would like to see the city put up signs near the Thurman Mill dam.
"I think there needs to be a sign that you must portage out. Problem is, there isn't any room because the upstream side is pretty brushy," Walsh said. "There needs to be a lot more public awareness and some signage."
Lynn Hightower, spokeswoman for Boise police, said the city hasn't had any discussion about adding warning signs along the river. She said there's already a sign at the Ann Morrison footbridge, directing floaters to get out of the river at the park.
"So far, there have been no citizen requests for additional signage along other parts of the river that are not designated or typical for floating," she said via e-mail. "So at this time, there's no plans for more signs along the river."
Katy Moeller: 377-6413
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