The Lake Delhi dam failed Saturday as rising floodwater from the Maquoketa River ate a 30-foot-wide hole in the earthen dam, causing water to drop 45 feet to the river below and threatening – at least for a while – a few towns downstream.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said DNR Environmental Specialist Tom McCarthy who was on the scene Saturday.
Fred DeShaw, 52, of Worthington, said he was only about 150 feet away when the earth gave way at the dam in Delaware County. He estimated a swath about 125 feet wide and 30 feet deep opened up before his eyes as a “roar” of water went through.
“Anything and everything was going through,” DeShaw said.
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