Replacing the northeast Iowa dam that burst last month and drained a recreational lake is expected to take millions of dollars and perhaps a couple of years. Jim Berg, a public assistance coordinator for Iowa Homeland Security, says there are many decisions that need to be made before the new Lake Delhi dam can be built.
“They’ll have to design it to current standards,” Berg says. “This dam was originally built in 1925-1926. The safety standards for dam construction have changed since then. Somewhere along the line, those current standards will be incorporated in the replacement of the dam.” Heavy rain and record flooding wiped out the Delaware County dam on July 24th, quickly draining the nine-mile lake and damaging or destroying up to 300 homes. Berg says the new dam may end up being completely different from what had stood at the end of the lake for decades.
“I don’t know how it’s going to look,” Berg says. “It may end up being an all concrete dam and levee. It depends on what is required once they determine the water flow for the river, the average flow, how many gallons of water are being held back by this structure.”
Anthony Bardgett, the Delaware County Engineer, says it has yet to be determined who will pay for the new dam or how much it might cost.
“We’re going to be in a lot of talks, especially with federal highway officials, FEMA officials,” Bardgett says. “It’s too preliminary right now to try to guess what’s going to happen. We need to take a look at stabilizing this bank here and we’ll just go from there.”
Governor Culver announced the creation of a new state program last week, Iowans helping Iowans, which is designed to help bail out homeowners and small businesses that had flood damage, though it will not apply to the rebuilding of the dam. The governor has suggested the new dam be hydroelectric, so residents in the Lake Delhi area can produce their own power.
By Janelle Tucker, KMCH, Manchester