My Childhood Lake is gone

[zabooda]

My family had a cabin on Lake Delhi in Iowa and now the dam got wiped out. The hydrodam was turned over to the lake residents back when we had our cabin and I wondered how well it's been maintained. A Moomba dealer,B&B Sports, is near the lake so I'm hoping they don't take a hit.


Reuters – Waters burst through the broken Lake Delhi dam in Northeastern Iowa, in this handout photograph taken …
Slideshow:Iowa's Lake Dehli Dam Break
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jul 26, 5:33 pm ET
DES MOINES, Iowa – Acres of mud strewn with dead fish greeted hundreds of eastern Iowa residents Monday after a weekend dam break left their lakefront properties overlooking little more than a small stream.
The Lake Delhi dam in Delaware County gave way under the rapidly rising Maquoketa River on Saturday, decimating the nine-mile-long lake and adjacent property values.
"The water's gone, dead fish are laying there on the bottom — it's a pretty nasty looking scene," said Irv Janey of Marion, who owns a condominium on Lake Delhi. "It was a beautiful recreation area and to see it drained, it just makes you sick."
Heavy rains last week forced the river to unprecedented levels, causing earthen portions of the dam to collapse and sending a torrent of water rushing downstream. The concrete section of the dam remained intact, but the swollen river damaged about half the 1,000 homes and cabins above it. The lake quickly emptied.
"We have over $100 million in homes on the lake and none of them are worth what they were when they had water in front of them," said Jim Willey, director of the Lake Delhi Recreation Association. "You have a home with a lake or a home with a mud flat.

[BWeber]

Sadly I haven't actually boated on Lake Delhi, but B&B Water Sports does happen to be my local Moomba Dealer. I hope they can make it through this, they have some top notch service and they are above and beyond friendly.

[Waynes345]

We were dealing with the flooding on our lake near Galena, IL (Apple Canyon Lake) when we saw that news. The dam collapsed and the small town below it was evacuated. Sounded like our situation where the association is responsible for the lake and dam. What a tradgedy. Hopefully they can get some disaster assistance to help put things back together.

[Iowa05LSV]

I too learnd to combo, slalom and board on Lake Delhi. I've reached out the Bauer family but haven't heard back from them yet (I'm guessing they're a bit busy). They saying between 300 and 400 of the 700 houses on the lake were damaged. As I told my son yesterday, our Moomba's have a lot of power, but nothing compares to Mother Nature when she's angry.
-Iowa05LSV