(Spirit Lake)– Prospects of getting improvements made at the Lower Gar Outlet yet this fall aren’t as bright now as they were earlier based on information Dickinson County Engineer Dan Eckert had Tuesday for the board of supervisors.
Eckert reported the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just now put together an agreement with the county for a hydrology study that needs to be completed prior to any construction actually getting underway. The supervisors are expected to take action on that agreement at their meeting next week.
Based on that, Eckert told the supervisors it could be early September at the earliest before the corps will be able to complete the study. He says plans would then be submitted to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which could approve them as early as October 1st. Once that’s done, Eckert says a request for bids would go out, with a bid opening and letting in late October. Based on that, Eckert says it would likely be about Thanksgiving before any work could start. He says the project is expected to take about 20 working days to complete.
This past year saw most outdoor construction projects grind to a halt in early December with the arrival of very cold temperatures and measurable snowfall, which continued the rest of the winter.
Proponents of the project to install two additional culverts six inches above the height of the dam at Lower Gar are hoping to get it done yet this fall so it will be in place for next spring’s snow melt and heavy rains. They’re worried over prospects of having high water levels again next spring on West Lake Okoboji.
