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About 175 people attended a public meeting Tuesday night at the Watertown Event Center to hear about and ask questions on a proposed flood mitigation project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The plan, developed by the Corps, would lower the elevation of Lake Kampeska by 0.8 feet each fall to create more storage space in the lake for spring flood water, building an earthen levee and floodwall on the east side of the Big Sioux River in the city and widening the river channel.
Personnel from the Army Corps of Engineers, and Watertown Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director Heath VonEye take questions from the crowd.
The plan was one of several studied by the Corps and was determined to be the best option on a cost vs. benefit basis.
Corps commander Col. Robert J. Newbauer gave some history behind efforts at flood mitigation in Watertown and Watertown Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director Heath VonEye welcomed the crowd, noting several city officials in the crowd, including Mayor Ried Holien and City Manager Amanda Mack.
Project Manager Sarah Miller speaks to the crowd.
Project Manager Sarah Miller then went over the details of the plan before audience members were given a chance to ask questions.
Questions came mostly from Lake Kampeska residents, most of them opposed to the plan. Lake Kampeska resident Brad Johnson, who is with the Lake Kampeska Water Project District, said the district has voted to oppose the plan, which brought applause from the crowd.
Several people asked questions or raised concerns, and none seemed totally satisfied with the answers from Corps personnel. One questioner was a Lake Pelican resident, and he was assured that there are no plans to change that lake.
Newbauer, the Corps commander, told the Watertown Current that he was impressed with the size of the crowd and with their questions.
“We do these public meetings as part of a transparent process,” he said. “It’s a tremendous positive that we have this much involvement from the public. That tells me they feel when they come here and speak to us, that we will take their comments into consideration and we’re not just pencil-whipping this exercise. I think that’s a positive.”
He said that the Corps will listen to the concerns and act appropriately.
“There’s clearly an element of the population that does not fully agree with our plan, particularly around the lake,” he said. “It was positive to hear that some other folks that live in town are very supportive of the plan. At the end of the day, we’re trying to get to a plan that meets the need of the city while meeting all the concerns that were laid out.”
The process of getting to a final plan is not a short one. Public comment will be taken for another 30 days – those who didn’t ask questions were given the chance to submit written questions to the Corps. Then comes the optimization phase, feasibility and environmental studies and more analysis before a final report is filed within 28 to 36 months.
Implementation of any final plan would not come until late 2029 or early 2030.
One thing made clear at the meeting was that the Mahoney Dam project, which was first floated as a solution to flooding at Lake Kampeska and the City of Watertown, is no longer a viable option due to costs and other factors.
People who still want to comment on the plan can do so by writing to USACE Omaha District, ATTN: Sarah Miller, 1616 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102, or via email to CENWO-CW-PlanningOutreach@USACE.army.mil.
