Lake Delhi voters OK $6M in bonds for new dam

DELHI, Iowa (AP) — Lake Delhi residents have approved issuing more than $6 million in bonds to help pay for rebuilding their failed dam.

More than 95 percent of the voters said yes on Tuesday, far more than the 60 percent required for passage.

On Sunday, members of the Lake Delhi Recreation Association voted 420 to 16 voted to transfer ownership of the failed dam to the Lake Delhi Combined Recreational Facility and Water Quality District.

The dam failed in July 2010, draining the 9-mile-long lake in eastern Iowa.

The association had been told by state officials that transferring the dam to a public entity was necessary to get consideration for financial assistance in rebuilding the dam.

Lake Delhi leaders have said the bond issue was necessary to obtain state and county aid.