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Lake Delton Homeowners Expand Possible Suit To Include DNR

June Flooding Caused Man-Made Lake To Empty

Updated: 10:49 am CDT October 7, 2008

Some of those who lost homes and land in the Lake Delton flooding disaster last June have expanded their possible lawsuit to include the state of Wisconsin.

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Those planning to sue the village of Lake Delton have filed the same kind of paperwork with the state, implicating the state Department of Natural Resources in the incident, WISC-TV reported.

The 12-page Notice of Injury and Claim along with exhibits was filed Monday afternoon with the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office. It was obtained by WISC-TV Monday evening.

The notice takes aim at the DNR, specifically eight workers past and present including current Secretary Matt Frank.

On June 9, the rain-swollen Lake Delton burst through a low-lying section of an earthen bank. The rush of water from the man-made lake destroyed a subdivision of homes and land and sent it all down the nearby Wisconsin River. The flood also cut through a section of highway.

Nearly four months later, the property owners are charging the DNR as well as the village with negligence in failing to stop the catastrophic event.

The document, which can be a precursor to a lawsuit, alleges that the lake failure was due "in whole or in part" to the "negligence" of one or more of eight DNR dam safety engineers, officials and DNR secretaries. The notice of claim charges the workers were "negligent" in their inspections and calculations of hydraulics of the Dell Creek Dam, WISC-TV reported.

According to the notice, "Negligent maintenance, repair, operation of and planning for the floodgates and spillways of the Dell Creek Dam by the Village of Lake Delton and DNR officials unduly restricted the passage of the increased volume of water in Lake Delton over and through the two established spillways and floodgates of the dam during and after the storm events of June 5-9, 2008."

The notice also said that the state engineer failed to act or advise the village during the event appropriately. The claim specifically cites inaccurate DNR calculations on the amount of water the dam could handle or how its emergency spillway worked.

The notice says the village and DNR are liable for the loss of land, improvements and personal property in an amount "to be set out in claims to be filed in the future."

The owners of nine parcels of land affected by the breach have been reimbursed by the state Department of Transportation for their land and/or homes at fair market value.

Eight of the nine owners are taking part in the notice of claims. They said the state checks covering condemnation laws do not cover all of their losses in the disaster and that they are simply seeking enough money to cover those losses.

So far, the DNR and village officials have said this was simply an extraordinary rain event that no one could have predicted or prevented.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.

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