Le Sueur County Emergency Management issued a warning to residents in low-lying areas of the Minnesota River Valley at 10:49 a.m. on Monday after surging waters breached the west end of the Rapidan Dam in Blue Earth County.
Residents in the communities of Kasota, Le Sueur, St. Peter and Ottawa were advised to "closely monitor [the] situation and potentially evacuate," following word that the 475-foot structure was in an "imminent failure condition."
The city of Le Sueur was quick to post an update at 11 a.m. informing residents that no evacuation is necessary at this time. The anticipated rise in water levels from the dam's failure are expected to dissipate by the time the current reaches Le Sueur, according to local officials.
“The greatest impact of that dam failure will be 10 miles downstream," said Le Sueur City Administrator Joe Roby. "Of course, we are outside of that 10 mile stretch, so while the water will make it down this way it’s estimated at this time to have a negligible impact on the current predicted water elevation.”
Multiple days of heavy rainfall over the past week have caused Minnesota River water levels to swell over 10 feet since Wednesday. The river is expected to crest on Tuesday, reaching a near-historic level of 29.6 feet, according to the National Water Prediction Service.
The rapid flooding created such a surge that waters began to cut around the west side of the Rapidan Dam. On Monday morning, the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office stated the structure was still intact, but they did not know if the aging dam, which has retained significant damage from regular flooding events over the past 100 years, would continue to hold.
“We do not know if [the dam] will totally fail or if it will remain in place, however we determined it was necessary to issue this notification to advise downstream residents and the correct regulatory agencies and other local agencies,” the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office stated in a social media post.
If the dam fails, Blue Earth County officials anticipated river levels would swell up to an additional six inches to two feet, depending on the location downstream. The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office further wrote there was no evacuation order in place for Blue Earth County residents and anyone in immediate danger as a result of a potential dam failure has already been notified.
The conditions of the Rapidan Dam led the city of North Mankato to declare a flood emergency Monday morning and begin construction of a temporary earth wall levee at the intersection of Lookout Drive and Lee Boulevard.
While the city of Le Sueur advised that residents did not face an immediate threat from the flooding, there are businesses in low-lying areas which could be impacted. In response, the city has been retrieving sand bags for anyone who may need them.
Road closures
In response to the rising water levels, the Minnesota Department of Transportation has closed down several roads near Le Sueur County. Highway 19 east of Henderson was the first to shut down June 19. With Highway 93 south of town and Sibley County Road 6 already closed for construction, Highway 19 to the west has been the only passage in and out of the community left open during the flooding event.
The Highway 93 west entrance to Le Sueur off Highway 169 was also shut down due to flooding on Saturday. Floods further forced the closure of the Highway 99 Minnesota River bridge in St. Peter and the Highway 22 bridge between St. Peter and Kasota.
Within the city limits of Le Sueur, both Mayo Park and River Park are closed until further notice. This includes the River Park campsites and boat launch.
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