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Relief noted at Sabetha dam

(KMZA)--Some good news following concerns pertaining to a dam located near Sabetha.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning in relation to a possible breach.

However, at that time, Nemaha County Emergency Preparedness Director Russel Lierz said flooding was not imminent, despite a sink hole that developed below the watershed dam.

On Friday, he said the sinkhole is two feet lower, and the inflow into the dam area is back to normal.

The situation does continue to be monitored.

The sinkhole was discovered Tuesday, and Sabetha City Administrator Doug Allen Thursday told MSC News a Kansas Water Office representative has been physically monitoring the situation.

The flash flood warning has since been lifted.

On Friday, Governor Laura Kelly toured the watershed dam along with Kansas Division of Management officials.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources and the Kansas Water Office have developed maps for significant and high hazard dams in Kansas that show the area that would be flooded if the dam were to fail.

According to a news release, if the watershed dam south of Sabetha were to fail, the map indicates that agricultural lands would be flooded, as well as a couple of local roads, County Road 220 and County Road 250. Those roads have not been impacted at this time, but have been closed in a precautionary measure.

Mapping does not show water would extend over Highway 36 or out of the banks for more than a few miles downstream and does not indicate flooding in other areas with significant residential or commercial development.

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