Fear: Worst to come. If thee Rapidan Dam itself collapses, a wall of water would rush downriver. A flash flood alert has been issued. Menwhile, water has washed out the embankment at the far end of the dam and cerated an uncntrollable new channel. The dam, 114 years old, is rated in poor condition on he National Inventory of Dams.
Dam itself messed up with flood debris
MANKATIO, Minn – The flooding Blue Earth River found a path around the 114-year-old Rapidan Dam upstream from Mankato. The torrent ripped out a sodden earthen bank at one end of the dam. A house on the bank, thankfully already evacuated, crumbled into the current. The debris was swept downriver. The dam itself was in imminent danger of collapse, LaSueur County authorities said. A collapse would unleash a wall of water toward Mankato, 10 miles away, and a couple dozen other communities. The Blue Earth River drains 3,500 square miles and is the largest tributary to the Minnesota River, which empties int the Mississippi River at Fort Snelling. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood alert
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Rapidan Dam profile
The dam spans the Blue Earth River, holding back 87 vertical feet of water. The span: 475 feet. Spillways are five steel tainter gates and two timber gates. Two turbines generate 2 million watts – enough to supply 2,000 to 3,000 homes. Blue Earth County owns the dam and reservoir. The company Eagle Creek Renewable Energy operates the dam.