Delhi dam an asset worth rebuilding

By The Gazette Editorial Board

Rebuilding the Lake Delhi dam is important to the economic vitality and quality of life in Delaware County. Figuring out how to get that done will be a massive challenge. And a new dam must do a better job of flood control.

The Maquoketa River, swollen by 15 inches of rain in the watershed, topped the dam and washed away the earthen portion. Several hundred homes and businesses and thousands of crop acres were lost or heavily damaged. The lake is gone. Fisheries are at risk.

It's yet another major flood disaster caused by extreme rainfall events that have plagued Iowa the past three years. We empathize. Several circumstances complicate recovery from this latest tragedy, including:

l The private Lake Delhi Recreation Association owns and operates the dam and oversees water improvement projects.

l A vital public transportation link that crossed the dam, County Road X-31, was destroyed.

l Affected property owners have no access to federal flood insurance because Delaware County officials unwisely refused to join the program. Supervisors are scrambling to sign up now and this flood's victims may get coverage if a federal disaster declaration is granted.

Meanwhile, state and federal government leaders should do everything they can to help those who lost a primary residence or business.

Resolving the dam dilemma is more difficult. How much state and federal government disaster assistance can and should be provided for rebuilding? How much of the cost - estimated in the tens of millions of dollars - should the owners association stand? Should the dam be turned over to the county or state to operate? Should the dam even be restored?

Yes, rebuild it, but make it better.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, leery of damning streams because it disrupts wildlife environment, has given support - provided certain flood-control improvements are added. DNR officials acknowledge Lake Delhi's economic impact on Delaware County.

“It's huge,” Jack Klaus, head of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, told us. “Our businesses, and Delhi's, certainly feel the impact of losing the dam.”

Lake residents seek medical care and buy groceries, gas and hardware items at local stores and the hospital. Lake property owners, year-round residents and vacationers alike, pay school and county taxes.

And though the dam is privately owned, the lake belongs to all Iowans because the Maquoketa River feeds it and rivers are public territory. Nearby county parks provide public access.

Lake Delhi is an Iowa asset worth preserving. Certainly, property owners should put skin in the effort. And our state officials, by now well versed in flood disasters, must sort out a feasible recovery plan.