Iowa Senate budgets $5 million to repair Lake Delhi, dam

The Iowa Senate approved $5 million for repairs to Lake Delhi and the dam that forms it on the Maquoketa River in Delaware County.

The funds - $2.5 million in each of the next two budget years – will be matched by funds raised by the Delaware County supervisors, who are looking at a $1.2 million bond issue, and a local fundraiser with a $3.5 million goal.

The appropriation was part of House File 648, the annual Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund budget. It expanded the RIIF budget approved by the House 57-41 last month from $111 million to $166 million.

The budget also includes $54 million for bond replacement, $33 million for the Environment First Fund, $24 million for construction management at prisons at Fort Madison, $24 million for tuition replacement at regents universities, and $5.3 million for the Community Attractions and Tourism, and Mitchellville, and $2 million for the passenger rail revolving loan fund as well as intent language for $6.5 million for passenger rail in fiscal 2013.

The Lake Delhi funding did not come easily. Sen. James Hahn, R-Muscatine, questioned the wisdom of spending the money on reconstituting the lake and dam without developing soil and water conservation practices in the Maquoketa River watershed above the lake.

Sen. Dennis Black, D-Grinnell, who supported the bill, said that until farmers and landowners above the new dam agree to structures to keep the water on the land there will be siltation problems.

“Unfortunately, we're throwing our money away of we don't get that under control,” Hahn said, referring to those siltation problems that have plagued the lake.

Sen. Tom Hancock, D-Epworth, argued the lake had a $154 million economic impact in the region before the June 2010 flood that breached the dam that created an impoundment on the river. That's projected to drop to $34 million a year as a result of the flood.

“We're talking about 900 homes – about 300 of them were destroyed,” said Hancock.

Before the Senate approved the funds on a 26-23 vote, the debate evolved a discussion of the difference between a meandering river and a meandered river as well as whether the land under the lake is private property or owned by the state. Neither issue was resolved.

In the end, HF 648 was approved 26-23 and sent back to the House. The House version was a two-year budget with $119 million appropriated for the second year.