(Spirit Lake)– The Dickinson county board of supervisors remain concerned over the higher levels of the Iowa Great Lakes. The issue was a major topic of discussion again at their meeting Tuesday.
It was reported that crews recently cleaned rocks and other debris from the culverts at the Lower Gar Outlet in an effort to bring the water levels down faster–especially on West Lake Okoboji. But the supervisors are concerned that wasn’t enough, and want more done to lower the levels as soon as possible. The options that were discussed are similar to those in the past–ranging from putting in more culverts at the outlet to replacing them with a bridge; and to improving the flow through a culvert at sixth street in Milford.
After considerable discussion, the supervisors decided to pursue the latter option first, but the county would have to get permission from the city of Milford before making any changes to the culvert, since the city has jurisdiction in that area. The supervisors voted five-to-nothing Tuesday to meet with the Milford city council on that matter. The city has already gone on record as being strongly opposed to any efforts to replace the Lower Gar Outlet culverts with a bridge.
While some say too much water is being retained in West Lake Okoboji, others say there isn’t a problem right now. They feel the supervisors would be better off just leaving things alone. But some supervisors are concerned over what may happen if there is another flood anytime soon and whether they could be held responsible if nothing at all is done to try to prevent it.
