Culver names task force to study Lake Delhi dam break aftermath

Gov. Chet Culver on Friday issued an executive order creating a task force whose members will be charged with developing strategies to help residents recovery and rebuild from last month's dam collapse in the Lake Delhi area of northeast Iowa.

The Lake Delhi Recover and Rebuild Task Force also will consider under if, and under what conditions, the Lake Delhi dam should be rebuilt, according to Culver's directive.

The governor also directed state Department of Natural Resources to establish a technical panel to determine the cause of the Lake Delhi dam failure and report the findings by Dec. 1.

“These are very important concrete steps forward,” Culver said in a statement. “It is appropriate to bring together subject-matter experts to help determine what caused the failure of the Lake Delhi dam, and then move ahead by doing all we can for the Iowans who live on and around Lake Delhi.”

The Task Force will be led by Bret Mills, director of the state Department of Economic Development, and will include officials from various state agencies, the governor's office,  representatives from Delaware, Jones, and Jackson counties, and officials from the towns of Monticello, Manchester and Hopkinton. Task force members also are required to submit an initial report on or before Dec. 1.

The governor's action came one day after Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said there might not be any federal funds to help the Lake Delhi Recreation Association rebuild its dam that was washed out by recent flooding.

Culver said Thursday he has heard nothing from FEMA that would rule out federal assistance. He bases his belief the dam is FEMA-eligible on the fact the lake was eligible for FEMA funds after the 2008 floods.

About 200 feet of an earth-over-concrete dam at Lake Delhi washed away in July 24 flooding on the Maquoketa River in Delaware County. The dam, owned by the Lake Delhi homeowners' association, created a nine-mile lake that is a popular vacation and recreation spot. There are about 830 homes around the lake. About two-fifths are the owners' primary residences, according to the association. The homes around the lake accounted for about 8.5 percent of Delaware County's property tax base.