Ruined dam sends disaster down on the land
By Jean Caspers-Simmet
simmet@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 08/19/2010 9:07 AM
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HOPKINTON, Iowa —When the Lake Delhi dam gave way July 24, farmers below the dam along the Maquoketa River, got more than flood water. A thick layer of sediment settled on pastures and crop fields along with a tangle of debris — trees and other brush, boats, docks, tires and LP tanks.
Delaware County conservation officials showed Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Jim Gillespie, Field Services bureau chief with the Division of Soil Conservation at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the damage last week.
Northey said he came to view the devastation and see if there were ways his department could assist. Funding is available for farmers to repair damaged conservation structures like grassed waterways and terraces, he said.
What seems worse about this year than 2008 is that the damage is more severe in localized areas, Northey said. June and July have been among the wettest on record.
"The ground can't soak up any more water," Northey said.
The group stopped at the empty lake bed, which is now a bowl of mud with the river cutting a channel through the middle. The Lake Delhi dam itself is still standing but the earthen berm and road that went over the top are gone. The guide rails hang in the air. Piles of boats, lifts and docks dot the lake bed.
"The water used to come up to the green lawns," said Mike Freiburger, environmental specialist with IDAL's Division of Soil Conservation in Delaware County. "Where there's mud is where the water used to be."
Gillespie said something needs to be done with the exposed shoreline, which will continue to erode into the river until the lake is rebuilt.
"We need some cover," he said. "Oats, rye, some kind of vegetation."
Frieburger suggested aerial seeding.
Keith Krause, district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Delaware County, said northern parts of the county as well as parts of surrounding counties received 10 to 16 inches of rain on July 22 and another 3 inches July 23, that's a third of the area's annual precipitation.
"We don't know what things are like in the upper reaches of the watershed," said Krause. "When we get that much rain we know there is a lot of damage. I'm afraid there will be surprises at harvest with waterways and terraces that have washed out. Until crops are out, we won't have a final assessment."
In addition to visiting a farm, the group stopped at a 40-acre pasture covered with several feet of black mud and piles of debris.
The site is a good candidate for the flood plain easement program, Krause said. No funding exists for the program now, but he's taking names of farmers who are interested.
Delaware County has had excellent results with the program along Buffalo Creek, where easements protect 95 percent of the flood plain, Krause said. The county has one easement along the Maquoketa River and is working on another. Farmers agree to perpetually idle the land, which is seeded to grass or trees. They are compensated based on the assessed value of the property.
"The ground holds water and catches debris," Krause said. "There are water quality, flood control and wildlife benefits."
This year's storm was much more severe than in 2008, Krause said.
"Both in 2008 and this year, where there were good conservation practices, there was a definite impact," Krause said. "No-till continued to shine."
NRCS and IDALS are working together to help farmers, Krause said. Two weeks ago Gov. Chet Culver and Iowa Farm Service Agency Director John Whitaker visited damaged farms.