‘Prepared as best we can’
By Michael Johnson and Erica Kingston
Since last week sandbagging efforts have been full blown for many residents south of Washburn and upstream to Lake Sakakawea and Lake Audubon. Along the Riverside Lane, south of Washburn, residents have set up sandbags on various sides of their homes unsure of what direction the water may come from. As of Tuesday, the water was steadily creeping up the lawns toward homes in the Carvell Lane area though none had water touching their homes yet. Further upstream, the water was reaching into the wooded areas near Fort Mandan. At that point the Garrison Dam had been increased from 115,000 cubic feet per second(cfs) to 120,000 cfs. The levels are supposed to increase to 150,000 cfs by mid-June. Inflows into Lake Sakakawea were slightly lower than releases from Garrison Dam on Tuesday.
