Funding awarded to stabalize shores of Tripp Lake

The James River Water Development District board of directors approved a request Tuesday from the Tripp Lake Association for funding to stabilize the banks of the dam that forms Tripp Lake.

The $20,000 will help replenish the association's account, since it has already started work on the dam.

Wayne Dempster, vice president of the association, told the board the association raised $50,000 to start the process of stabilization.

"We wanted to get enough money to get this stabilized so it wouldn't get washed out the next time a spring rain came," Dempster said.

The group has started fencing off the dam, which holds back silt from going in to Tripp Lake. Dempster said the association doesn't want to see more erosion and vegetation trampled by cattle.

The dam was built in 1934 through the Works Progress Administration and was formerly a popular spot for a water carnival.

"That's the spirit that allowed us to raise funds," Dempster said.

The lake is located west of the city of Tripp.

In other business during the meeting Tuesday at Mitchell City Hall, the board:

• Approved a $5,000 request from landowner Mark Roth in South Clayton Township to rebuild a silt retention dam in Hutchinson County. The dam is the highest in a series that hold back silt from going into the James River. The funding will help place tubing in the dam to protect water quality and prevent silt and other harmful runoff from entering the water.

• Approved a $9,500 request to rebuild a dam on Dave Huber and Viola Mehlhaf's land in Kassel Township in Hutchinson County that sits above Menno Lake. The dam was placed poorly years ago, said Dave Bartel, interim manager of the James River Water Development District.

"Over the years it has just decayed," he said.
The dam helps filter runoff from the hayfield it sits in and from surrounding fields, Bartel said.

• Tabled a request from a landowner in Hutchinson County to rebuild a dam until the board receives more detailed aerial photos and bid estimates.

• Denied a request to excavate a dugout in Hutchinson County, because board members said the isolated project doesn't align with their mission for the greater watershed.