FARIBAULT, Minn. — Another inch and a half of rain fell Thursday night, including in the area around Faribault.
It's just another city that's so water logged, the dam next to the popular Faribault Mill is now damaged.
The city says part of it was eroded by the flood waters and it's now working to stabilize the problem.
"I've never seen my buddy's shop underwater like that," said resident Jim Thompson, who was fishing the Cannon River that runs through the dam. "It’s moving pretty fast and it’s swirling; it's got a lot of strength to it."
Governor Tim Walz says about half the counties across the state are now impacted by this season's relentless rain, pushing rivers to record levels.
"It couldn't hold all the water and this dam has been here forever," said Thompson. "It's definitely way beyond its capacity."
Federal data shows the dam is 159 years old and one of 13 within Rice County. It was last inspected a year ago, and while the Army Corps of Engineers reports it's in satisfactory condition, if it fails fully, it classified the potential hazard as significant.
That's the same classification as the Rapidan Dam about an hour away, that made national headlines when it recently partially failed. The failure prompted the Department of Public Safety to announce the water levels are now threatening a nearby bridge.
"To get a full damage assessment of those areas, we need those flood waters to go down to be able to do that," said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. "This disaster is not over."
The rivers are slowly receding, but a recent climate assessment study found up to 15% more precipitation fell across the Midwest in the last decade compared to the previous one - putting even more strain on some dams.
There are nearly 92,000 of them across the country with an average age of 63.
Another dam in Faribault called King's Mill is three time that old and that data shows it's in fair condition with a high potential for hazard if it fails.
As for the Woolen Mill Dam, Faribault city officials say they notified the state. Although, they don't expect any risk to the public, but are continuing to monitor the area.
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