BURLINGTON, N.D., April 14 (UPI) -- Dropping 1,000-pound sandbags from a helicopter to shore up a weakened dam in northwest North Dakota could do more harm than good, officials said.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple and other state officials toured the areas around Burlington impacted by the rising waters of the Des Lacs River Wednesday, and residents told the Minot (N.D.) News they are growing weary of placing sandbags around their homes.
"We expect the water to run high for quite a long time," said Todd Sando, of the State Water Commission. "There will be a tremendous amount of water moving for a long time. There's a lot of water still to come down from Canada."
Because of erosion to the low head dam west of Burlington, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch downstream.
A briefing was held at the Burlington City Hall following the governor's visit and National Guard officials said they had considered dropping half-ton sandbags in the area where the dam appeared weakest, but were concerned it might do more harm than good.
One resident said she was losing the battle to keep her home dry.
"We put about 1,500 sandbags around the house and we're on our way to get more this morning," said Lisa Johnston. "We've got three to four pumps running continuously and two or three people staying up all night long. This morning was the highest yet. The water is just starting to go on the sandbags."
