Water board continues work on Lake Shore
By April Baumgarten
After surveying the land that holds Lake Shore Estates, the Mercer County Water Resource Board has determined water flows into the development.
Now they just have to find out how much flows in from the slew.
“I think clearly this topography and these shots show that if we did nothing this slough, if it gets high enough, it goes out to the northwest,” engineer Steve Hoetzer said pointing to a slough east of the Lake Shore Estates road.
The board has been working on a solution to prevent flooding to homes along the Lake Sakakawea shore since it flooded in July. A storm dropped 6 inches of rain in one hour, flooding six homes and causing property damage to 13 residents.
The board was able to determine the road between the north field and the development serves as a dike, sitting 3 feet above the ditch.
“The big question remains, what does this tell us about the level of the natural drain before?” secretary Greg Lang said. “What could we clean out of there?”
Engineers would have to take core samples from the area to find out how much water can be drained.
The board has tried to prove water has flowed from Jerome Boeshans’ land so it can divert it. His lawyer, Mike Dwyer, previously said the homes block the natural flow of the water and the board should consider buying out homes.
