Two weeks ago, a fast-eroding dam caused the evacuation of Kathryn, North
Dakota, and called to mind the precarious state of some of the country’s dams
and flood-control levees. This week in the news, Navarro County, Texas, has
announced it will receive more than $3 million in federal stimulus funding to
repair three earthen dams.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service says the dams were chosen from a
list of “endangered small dams” in Texas. They are relatively new—built within
the last 50 years to complement the function of larger, US Army Corps of
Engineers-constructed dams—but all are in need of repair. Originally built to
protect rural and agricultural land from flooding and erosion, they’re now
protecting the urban areas that have since sprung up downstream.
All told, six Texas counties will be receiving a total of $21.5 million of
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money to repair 24 flood-control dams.
The repairs are expected to create about 450 jobs in the state.
Is your region seeing stimulus funding for water-quality or flood-control
projects? Which projects are (or should be) highest on the list?