The Lake Mitchell restoration project is currently on hold. According to Mayor Jordan Hanson’s news release, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has informed the city that a 50% Probable Maximum Flow and Breach Analysis will be required prior to dam reconstruction.
“It’s part of the permit process,” explained Hanson. “We’re not sure why it came up so late in the process, so it’s all new information to us and pretty much everyone involved in the project so far.”
Hanson believes the analysis could take up to a year based on what he has been told.
The DANR recommended that the analysis be completed prior to breaching the dam to ensure that there are no safety issues that would prevent the dam from being rebuilt once breached.
Hanson anticipates Barr Engineering providing an update at the Mitchell City Council meeting on September 15th, as well as additional updates as information is shared with the city.
