Small ND town hopes aging dam can hold back river

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Small ND town hopes aging dam can hold back river
Associated Press
Posted on April 14, 2011 at 3:02 AM

BURLINGTON, N.D. (AP) — Some residents in a development along the bloated Des Lacs River brushed off warnings to evacuate ahead of a possible dam break, choosing to stay behind and shore up or pump out their homes.

About 30 homes in the small town of Burlington near Minot, in northwest North Dakota, were at risk of severe damage from what officials called a "high potential" the aging dam would wash out. About 200 people had been advised to head to higher ground.

"Some of them are and some of them aren't," Fire Chief Karter Lesmann said. "We can't make them leave, we can only suggest it."

Authorities on Wednesday considered dropping half-ton sandbags from a National Guard helicopter to shore up the dam that stands between the endangered homes and the river. But state Homeland Security Director Greg Wilz called it a "crapshoot'" because engineers say the sandbags could do more harm than good.



Read more: http://www.khou.com/news/national/119828349.html

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Sherman A1]

2. I hope that everyone is safe and the damn holds

there will be significant flooding this spring from our long, wet winter.

[rasputin1952]

3. If said dam bursts...

there will be Darwin Awards galore.

[sakabatou]

6. That's awful!

[greiner3]

4. Damn taxes;

Aren't these people who have protested highly against high taxes? A bit higher taxes and infrastructure, such as dams, would be fixed, proactively and not when the sheeple are threatened.

With that said, I hope the damn dam stays up and lasts long enough to make the needed repairs when the danger subsides.

[Igel]

5. You really think that higher taxes would have gotten this dam fixed?

The dam's from 1938. It's barely been touched since then.

It was a combined state and federal project (North Dakota Rehabilitation Corporation plus Farm Security Administration), and based on the system of dams and irrigation canals that local farmers had already built to contain and channel water from the confluence of two rivers. (Ain't Google grand?)

The farmers don't have to worry about it. It's not their problem.

The state says that it's the federal government's problem, that with a $3.x trillion budget they can't scrape up $50k to maintain the dam?

The federal government is busy with its own problems, and trying to find new ones to attend to. It needs to save the world, manage our health, redesign the American psyche, create a few million private sector jobs and construct a new social order. This is an old problem. Creating jobs along the Souris River wouldn't be impressive; the project's not "shovel ready". It doesn't have time to worry about a couple score households someplace nobody ever goes to. I suspect that there are more people in the federal government who would want to tear down the dams entirely than fix them.

[Snoutport]

7. higher taxes MIGHT have helped. we KNOW lower taxes absolutely won't

which is a better choice? trying to fix it or not trying to fix it? But, I appreciate you doing the homework! (and, sadly, nothing will be done probably until we have a large scale failure of infratructure)

A good work program would be great right about now. Get some labor moving, get some stuff fixed.