This study presents a comprehensive experimental examination of the effect of discontinuous obstacles on the energy dissipation of flow over stepped spillways. Obstacles with varying relative lengths (l₀/w from 0.05 to 0.5) and heights (h₀/h from 0.19 to 0.74) were tested on two spillway slopes (1:2 and 1:3). The Bubble Image Velocimetry (BIV) technique was employed for detailed flow parameter measurements between steps 6 and 7. Results reveal significant, previously unquantified differences in the shape and size of the recirculation zone between consecutive steps, even for the baseline Flat step configuration. The introduction of discontinuous obstacles induced complex three-dimensional transverse flows within the mixing zone. This transformation of the flow pattern into wavy and staggered forms, coupled with enhanced turbulence generation near the free surface, leads to superior energy dissipation compared to both Flat step and continuous obstacle configurations. Notably, the energy dissipation enhancement provided by discontinuous obstacles was significantly more pronounced for the milder 1:3 slope compared to the steeper 1:2 slope. These findings provide a foundational dataset for optimizing spillway design, demonstrating a novel approach to hydraulic energy management.