Letter to the Editor: Luther's Dike Road project will not impact downstream communities

(The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Luther College's Vice President for Finance and Administration Eric Runestad):

"Several members of the community (including the recent letter to the editor by Duane Vine) have raised questions about the levee project that Luther College is working on right now and its potential impact on Decorah and downstream communities. I am writing to provide information about this project that may help answer some of these questions.

Those who have driven on Dike Road lately would have observed that the road is in poor condition. However, Dike Road is also a levee that protects the lower part of Luther's campus from flooding, so rebuilding the road is not simple. During our planning for this project, we worked closely with outside engineers and other experts to understand and study the flood impact of the Dike Road project. The existing levee is built to withstand a 100-year flood, with the exception of a small amount of sandbagging that is required near Storre Theater. However, FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has been working on a study for Winneshiek County since 2010 and during their work, FEMA identified the College levee as one of the Decorah levees not meeting standards for accreditation. The key change was the requirement of additional "freeboard" (levee height) at the 100-year flood level. So, as Luther planned the repair and rebuild of Dike Road, we incorporated the requirements to achieve accreditation.

Luther will basically be adding height to the levee to make it meet FEMA's new standards at the 100-year flood level. We have worked closely with and received necessary approvals from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the City of Decorah's Board of Adjustment to plan and design the project. All of the work will be done on the college side of the levee with no impact on the capacity of the floodway, and engineers confirm that the amount of additional water that will be diverted upstream or downstream will be negligible.

It is also worth noting that many of Luther's projects have been built with features to retain water and slow the volume of drainage into the Upper Iowa River. Lindemann Pond, Baker Village, the Center for the Arts, Sampson Hoffland Laboratories, and our athletic fields were designed with specific water retention plans, all of which help protect areas downstream from the College.

In summary, Luther will rebuild Dike Road to protect campus at almost exactly the same 100-year flood level standard as we have in place now. We are doing this work to meet new FEMA standards for accreditation. There will be almost no downstream or upstream implications."