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FOX 28 TOP STORIES VIDEO
DELHI, IA - It was tough to watch on Saturday as flood waters destroyed the road leading up to the Lake Delhi dam. On Monday, just days later, leaders at Lake Delhi were trying to figure out what's next for the dam, and for their broken lake-front community.
Where there were once rushing waters devouring the area in Delhi, there's now...just mud. The waters that made Lake Delhi are gone.
"When you look at it, we're almost down to a river instead of a lake," said Lake Delhi Recreation Board member Bob Galiher.
The dam itself is a fraction of what it once was. The entire south side road is down to just a few pieces of rubble left in the river below. Just like on the south side of the dam, they're concerned about the north road collapsing as well; it's starting to break and crumble a little bit, and a lot of dirt has been washed out from under it by those flood waters. However, the structural integrity of the dam itself still has not been comprimised.
Inside, the dam is a muddy mess; doors ripped off and equipment damaged.
Although it still stands strong, a dam without water isn't of much use, and Delhi without a lake is a serious blow to the area.
"It's one of the biggest economic contributors to Deleware County, a big tourist destination, money comes into the Maquokata Valley School District," said Congressman Bruce Braley, (D) Iowa.
"There's 900 some residents here,” said Galiher. “Not all of them are perminent, probably a third of them are perminent residents, and the rest would be seasonal dwellings."
With the future at risk, leaders are standing firm that this area will thrive again.
"These things take time, but we're definitely working on the process that we need to take to rebuild and restore this," said Galiher.
We toured the dam Monday with Congressman Braley. He says they're working with state and federal officials on what the next step is for this area.
One thing everyone out there is stressing, is that they do plan to rebuild. Even Governor Chet Culver says, Lake Delhi must be restored. He’s calling it a real landmark.
Brian Scott, CBS 2 News
Monday, July 26 2010, 06:16 PM CDT
Where there were once rushing waters devouring the area in Delhi, there's now...just mud. The waters that made Lake Delhi are gone.
"When you look at it, we're almost down to a river instead of a lake," said Lake Delhi Recreation Board member Bob Galiher.
The dam itself is a fraction of what it once was. The entire south side road is down to just a few pieces of rubble left in the river below. Just like on the south side of the dam, they're concerned about the north road collapsing as well; it's starting to break and crumble a little bit, and a lot of dirt has been washed out from under it by those flood waters. However, the structural integrity of the dam itself still has not been comprimised.
Inside, the dam is a muddy mess; doors ripped off and equipment damaged.
Although it still stands strong, a dam without water isn't of much use, and Delhi without a lake is a serious blow to the area.
"It's one of the biggest economic contributors to Deleware County, a big tourist destination, money comes into the Maquokata Valley School District," said Congressman Bruce Braley, (D) Iowa.
"There's 900 some residents here,” said Galiher. “Not all of them are perminent, probably a third of them are perminent residents, and the rest would be seasonal dwellings."
With the future at risk, leaders are standing firm that this area will thrive again.
"These things take time, but we're definitely working on the process that we need to take to rebuild and restore this," said Galiher.
We toured the dam Monday with Congressman Braley. He says they're working with state and federal officials on what the next step is for this area.
One thing everyone out there is stressing, is that they do plan to rebuild. Even Governor Chet Culver says, Lake Delhi must be restored. He’s calling it a real landmark.
Brian Scott, CBS 2 News
Monday, July 26 2010, 06:16 PM CDT
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