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| re: Dam lawsuit in northeast ND dismissed |
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Posted On: Oct 17 2009 6:12PM
This lawsuit was totally stupid. A similar lawsuit over this issue was in court several years ago, between Pembina County and certain landowners over these assesments. The first lawsuit ended up going to the ND Supreme Court and the landowners won. Pembina County appealed the State Supreme Court decision twice and the landowners still prevailed.
Cavalier County is at higher elevation than Pembina County. The water flows by gravity downhill. Those that benefit from flood control from Renwick Dam are those that live DOWNSTREAM (Cavalier, etc.) from the dam, not upstream.
One of the contections that Cavalier County landowners have, is that Renwick Dam is hardly used for flood control use anymore. The State Park at Renwick Dam uses the retention water for boating, fishing and swimming. Renwick Dam was originally built for flood control and the dams purpose was changed to RECREATION. If Renwick Dam was used for flood control, it would be drained during the summer, after the spring runoff was done draining. Instead, the dam has water held in it year round for ice fishing, fishing, swimming and boating.
While this dam is a high risk dam, even after the $7.9 million dollars is spent to "make it safer", it will still be a high risk dam and the Federal Gov't can still order its removal.
The absurd thing is that it is claimed to be a "high risk dam" because it can break, but after it is rebuilt, it will hold an additional one foot of water. The reason it will hold one more foot of water, is to help out the boating, since the dam retention area has been filling up with sediment (sand). Since the immediate area above Renwick Dam is sandy, it washes into the dam.
So the Cavalier County landowners are supposed to pay an assessment to repair a flood control dam, that is now used for RECREATION???
Good thing the lawsuit was thrown out. Lets see if Pembina County tries a third attempt to force Cavalier County landowners to pay for water that flows naturally downstream by GRAVITY.
Its a fact, the water retention area for Renwick Dam, in Pembina County, is used for RECREATION (Icelandic State Park), not flood control. Let the recreation concerns pay for the renovation, not trying to force landowners to pay through "flood control" assessments.
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Posted On: Oct 17 2009 7:19PM
Well first of all the name of this story was pretty funny. Secondly why don't they rebuild and give the dam extra capacity to make sure recreation and flood control are still provided. Of course like you said, common sense is not used.
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Posted On: Oct 17 2009 8:55PM
The soil that this dam is built on is sand. If a heavy rain or excessive heavy flooding occurs, the dam and the adjacent area can washout easy, because sand is an unstable soil.
Pembina County is trying to fund this dam under the guise of flood control, when the dam is actually being used for recreation.
When these dams (there are other (8 to 10 or so) in that area that were built after the 1950 flood in the Red River Valley. The idea was to hold the spring runoff in those dams, so that downstream flooding would be minimized. After the spring runoff, the water in the dams retention area would be released until they were drawn down. During the summer and fall the dams could hold water back if a heavy rainfall were to occur.
Pembina County wants us all to believe that Renwick Dam is for flood control, even though it is used for fishing, boating and swimming. Ice fishing during the winter. Icelandic State Park is located there.
Of course, the water in the dam retention area is not drained after spring flooding. It is held there for recreation.
Money for flood control should be used for flood control. This dam that was built for flood control was hijacked and used for recreation. Now it is time for the recreation concerns to pay to rehab the dam.
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Posted On: Oct 17 2009 9:04PM
I was talking about the Renwick dam. It is up river from this dam correct? If not then my apologies for being wrong.
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Posted On: Oct 18 2009 8:30PM
Renwick Dam is the dam that they want to rehab. It is built on sand and could washout. It is on teh tongue river and is upstream of Cavalier.
The problem is that Renwick Dam is not used for water retention, as it was originally built. Water is stored year round for recreation (ice fishing, fishing, boating, swimming, camping, etc.)
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Posted On: Oct 18 2009 9:27PM
Well if the construction is so shoddy then why don't they release the water and build a new one? Or build one just down river when that new dam is built slowly drain the demolish the old dam.
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Posted On: Oct 19 2009 8:53PM
From what I know, The Powers That Be want the dam to stay where it is at, because that is where the state park infrastructure is at (beach, camping lots, etc.)
As far as building a whole new dam, the money is not there for it. If it cost $7.9 million dollars to renovate this dam, then a new dam would be alot more. Some of the expenses would be surveying, engineering, hydrolic studies, environmental impact statement and a host of other administrative expenses that would take years before ground ever was turned for new dam construction.
These dams were built for flood control and not recreation. Some of the water that is in some of the upstream dams water retention area, is not completely drained out during the summer, as that water is "needed" to provide fresh water for the Renwick Dam (State Park). These dams are supposed to be for flood control and drained after the Spring runoff and/or heavy rains, so that when the next water surge comes in, the dams can hold water to keep the downstream area from flooding too much.
I think Icelandic State Park is a nice recreation area, but it has turned into a hijack project, when flood control monies are being used for RECREATION. The property owners in Cavalier County have fought this, since they know they do not benefit from this project (they are upstream) and the dam is for RECREATION, not flood control.
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Posted On: Oct 19 2009 9:11PM
There are other ways of increasing the amount of water to be held. If they are concerned about using the dam as a duel us facility. You could increase water capacity without increasing the dam. I have also looked in to sandy soil dam, and they are very safe (the new ones) this one I am assuming is probably more that 50 years old, right?
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Posted On: Oct 21 2009 8:02PM
I do not have all the answers or info about this story. As far as I know the Powers That Be want the water held in the dam for recreation.
Its a flood control dam. Until the dam is drained like a flood control dam, it is used for recreation.
Also, I think the Renwick Dam was constructed in the early 1950's.
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