Lawmakers may assist Lake Delhi restoration study

State lawmakers may make funds available to help Lake Delhi property owners take the first step toward restoring the lake and dam that were destroyed by flooding last summer.

“I'm hopefully confident the Legislature will come up with some funding so the process can get started this year,” Sen. Tom Hancock, D-Epworth, said after a group from Lake Delhi pleaded their case to the Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Subcommittee Feb. 24.

Hancock, who represents the Lake Delhi area in Delaware County, sat in on the meeting and was encouraged by comments Chairman Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, made

McCoy said he has talked to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville and Department of Natural Resources Director Pat Boddy about the need “to get them on the first step.”

The first step, according to Todd Gifford of the Lake Delhi Watershed Association, is a $350,000 preconstruction study that would include a geotechnical evaluation, hydrological studies, restoration alternatives and construction specifications.

Rebuilding the dam that created the 450-acre impoundment on the Maquoketa River would cost between $10 million and $23 million depending whether the DNR required a moderate hazard dam or a high hazard dam, Gifford said. The difference would be $12.1 million in costs for the primary and emergency spillways. Both estimates include $3.3 million to generate up to 2 megawatts of hydroelectric power.

Gifford's group, which he described as a statewide, grass roots coalition of property owners, individuals, businesses, local governments and associations, emphasized that time is of the essence because of the economic impact of the loss of the lake and damage to the 800-plus homes in the lake tax districts.

The lake generated about $154 million in resident spending before the dam being breached. Since then, it has fallen to about $34 million, Gifford said. Property values have fallen from $125 million to $37 million and Lake Delhi property tax revenue is expected to drop $1.2 million per year, based on a study.

The goal is to raise about one-third of the funds needed for the restoration from private sources, including homeowners, Gifford said. That would leave about two-thirds of the cost to be covered by local, state and federal government.

Also, Gifford said Lake Delhi property owners are seeking a change to allow the lake tax district to increase its levy - on top of local property taxes - above the current cap of $4/$1,000 on assessed valuation.

Gifford sees great potential for the lake if the restoration is completed. Already, it attracts property owners from 29 counties and 13 states. He noted that 705,000 Iowans live within an hour's drive and the lake, which is about the same size as Clear Lake, has about a third more miles of shoreline than Clear Lake.