More Environmental Problems Surfacing At Lake Delhi

Kim Manfull (left) and Kelli Manfull, of Cedar Falls, wade through flood water in an attempt to retrieve some possessions from Kelli Manfull's parents' home in the Freddy's Beach area of Lake Delhi on Saturday, July 24, 2010. After the Lake Delhi Dam failed, water at Lake Delhi dropped about six feet in an hour. (Julie Koehn/SourceMedia Group News)

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By Richard Pratt

Story Created: Aug 31, 2010 at 9:04 AM CDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2010 at 5:47 PM CDT

DES MOINES (AP) — Environmental problems are growing at Lake Delhi, where a flood-related dam failure drained the lake in northeast Iowa in July.

Department of Natural Resources Director Richard Leopold says the Maquoketa River is washing away 80 years of silt on the bottom of the lake.

Leopold told The Des Moines Register on Monday that a stop-gap solution would be to spread a cover crop, such as oats, on the lake bed to help stabilize the sediment.

Leopold also says there are divisions within the agency over whether the lake should be restored. Last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the privately owned dam is not eligible for federal public assistance money.

Leopold is leaving the department for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Minnesota.

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