by Laura Adelmann
Thisweek Newspapers

Eagan resident Donna Wills tearfully told Dakota County commissioners March 22 that many of the city's residents live in fear of further flooding.

For decades, Wills said, many Eagan properties in and around Lebanon Hills Regional Park have been ravaged by flooding.

She spoke of destroyed trees, damaged property, sewage spraying in basements, and homes floating off their foundations.

"You need to consider the human devastation Ö one of my friends paces every time there's a big flood,î said Wills, who lives in the Lakewood Hills Drive neighborhood, an area particularly devastated by floods. "The residents deserve a solution.î

Environmentalists have likewise been concerned about the damage flooding has caused to Lebanon Hills Regional Park.

The issue is complex because much of the flooding is partly caused, according to numerous studies, by runoff created from developed areas of Rosemount and Apple Valley which flows into Dakota County's Lebanon Hills Regional Park, then ultimately drains into Eagan.

And Steeplechase, the new development planned at the former Diamond T Ranch property, would also drain north, likely exacerbating the runoff problem.

In the past, jurisdictional issues have proven a key roadblock to improving Eagan's flood-prone areas: How are the costs of improvements equitably divided, based on each city's contribution to the problem?

To address the problems, Barr Engineering is developing the Lebanon Hills Storm Water Management Plan.

As part of the plan's development, a stakeholders group is meeting to discuss potential solutions and cost-sharing scenarios.

Entities represented in the stakeholders group include the county, Eagan, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, park advocacy groups, private landowners and the cities of Rosemount and Apple Valley.

The draft plan proposes spending about $4.8 million (not including the cost of easement acquisition) to implement over 20 improvements.

Dakota County has $960,000 in state and county funds for implementing the plan; in addition the county is seeking $1.5 million in state matching flood mitigation grant funds.

But most of the funds are expected to come from cost-sharing with cities located within the plan watersheds.

The most important improvement in the plan is connecting the area to the Eagan storm sewer system.

Commissioner Will Branning questioned whether a large pipe system would be able to be developed through established neighborhoods.

"If there was a simple solution that could be agreed upon by all involved, this would have been solved long ago,î said Dakota County Parks Director Steve Sullivan.

Even recognizing the challenges, all agreed the problem must be addressed.

According to the county, if no changes are made, a 100-year flood event would result in six feet of flooding at Cliff Road, and Lakewood Hills Drive would be under water, all access to the neighborhood cut off.

In addition, 300 to 500 feet of water would overflow into Holland Lake; there would be basement flooding at a Cliff Road home and Schulze Lake beach house.

"The key thing to remember here is not only do we want to solve the problem of flooding your neighborhood, but we're here to solve the problem of flooding the park,î said Commissioner Nancy Schouweiler.

And, Commissioner Tom Egan said group financial participation is a necessity.

"We're thinking outside the corporate limits of the city to make this thing financially feasible,î he said.

A revised plan, based on additional stakeholder comments, is to come back to commissioners in April; then will be released for public comment May 3.

The June 28 commissioners meeting as the Physical Development Committee will determine cost allocations to implement the plan.

The board's final adoption of the plan is expected by July.

Laura Adelmann is at dceditor@frontiernet.net.

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