The section of the South Platte River where a young father drowned saving three children was once known as a “drowning machine.”
The Union Avenue Dam, located just south of Monday’s accident near Centennial Park in Sheridan, claimed two victims within three weeks in the spring of 1985.
That section of river was redesigned in the early 1990s with safety in mind, and the dam was scaled down – from about 14 feet high to about 4 feet high – as part of a calming effect.
Still, water – and “moving water” in particular – should not be underestimated in terms of potential danger, water experts said Wednesday.
“The South Platte River can be deceptive because of its size” or lack of size, said Jeff Shoemaker of the Greenway Foundation. “It’s a river to use and enjoy, but you better respect it. This is a sad and tragic way to learn that.”
Dustin Vollert, 28, drowned Monday after rescuing his two sons, Brandon, 9, and Brody, 4, and a teenage friend, Jeremiah Adams, 14.
Brandon and Jeremiah got caught in the current of the river and couldn’t get back to shore. Vollert jumped in to help and was followed by Brody.
All three boys escaped from the river, but Vollert was swept away.
His body was found Tuesday about 75 yards downstream.
Flow in the South Platte through the Denver area has averaged about 300 cubic feet per second over the past two weeks, said Gary Lacy, an engineer and owner of Recreation Engineering and Planning, a Boulder firm that designs white-water parks.
The Army Corps of Engineers controls much of the flow in the South Platte through the amount of water it releases from Chatfield Dam. The dam is about 10 miles upstream from where the accident happened Monday.
The recent flow is calm compared with rates in the spring when snowmelt runoff and storms can push raging waters up to 5,000 cubic feet per second.
“Water can be dangerous at any flow, especially if you aren’t prepared, if you don’t have the right equipment or the right skills,” said Lacy, who helped redesign the South Platte near the Union Avenue Dam.
The family of a kayaker who drowned there dubbed that section the “drowning machine.”
On Monday, the boys with Vollert weren’t wearing life vests or any cold-water gear.
Jeremiah, who has been a family babysitter, said they had all gone to the river many times without any problems. The section is popular with bathers, tubers and kayakers.
Lacy has kayaked the section about 40 times over the past 14 years, since the redesign was completed.
“In moving water in a natural setting, you have forces pushing on you all the time, forcing you downstream, sometimes upstream and down below the surface and back up,” Lacy said. “It is more a natural type of river, which can still be dangerous.”
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
