XCEL MONITORING DAM NEAR LADYSMITH
Thursday, October 28th, 2010 -- 2:50 PM
Xcel Energy is monitoring a dam near Ladysmith after noticing several depressions in an earthen embankment.Because of the potential for catastrophic failure at the facility a Flash Flood Watch was put into effect around the Big Falls Dam.
Crews have performed excavation work on the embankment. It?s a bit of mystery why the sinkholes appeared now, after being trouble-free for almost 90 years.
In the meantime, they've drawn down the reservoir by 12 feet.
According to WEAU-TV, 9,000 cubic feet of water per second flows through the dam right now, which is almost 6,000 more than a typical late October because of the draw-down and rainfall.
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