The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in South Dakota (SD) offers natural disaster assistance through the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP), which provides technical and financial assistance to help local communities and sponsors relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other natural disasters that impair a watershed, not requiring a disaster declaration by federal or state government officials for program assistance to begin.

Lake Dimock is a 20-minute drive south of Mitchell and is near a township road and a private landowner’s property. This lake has two spillways, with the primary concrete spillway at the north end of the dam embankment, and the secondary earth/grass “auxiliary” spillway near the center of the embankment. Water will run through the primary spillway first, then, if the elevation of the water gets high enough, it flows through the secondary auxiliary and over the township road. Twice within the last five years, during the extreme snowmelt and rainfall events in 2019 and 2024, extreme flooding caused damaging flows through the secondary auxiliary that spilled out into the neighboring landowner’s pasture. Those extremely powerful flows of water created a massive gully. If not fixed, another extreme rainfall event would likely have caused the gully to worsen, eventually eroding upstream, working its way through the road, and eventually even draining the lake.  If that type of erosion had occurred, it would have disrupted traffic, emergency services, and potentially disrupted power and telecommunications for the surrounding residents. To remedy this issue, NRCS’s EWP was utilized to repair the gully by installing a rock rip rap chute through a signed project agreement with SD Game, Fish and Parks (GFP), owner of Lake Dimock, and the project sponsor.

The neighboring landowner, Bill Kummer, granted permission for the project. When asked about the completed project, Bill replied, “I’m really pleased with it; the aesthetic is great.” In the meantime, to prevent erosion and encourage grass and cover crop growth in the spring, 100% weed-free straw was laid on top of the seeded field, which is secured in place in between two layers of degradable photosynthetic netting that will slowly degrade from sun exposure in four to six months, more formally known as an erosion control blanket (ECB), which will provide security against elemental erosion throughout the winter. The seed mix used for this field was the Department of Transportation’s type “G” mix, which includes switch grass, Indian grass, big bluestem, and Western wheat grass, with rye serving as a cover crop. Kummer plans to let freshly planted grass and cover crops establish before ever cutting it for hay.

Working in tandem with our partner in conservation, GFP awarded a construction contract to Lidel Construction of Sioux Falls, with construction staking and inspection led by Banner Associates. Engineer James Gilkerson with GFP designed the project—a final review of the design was completed by NRCS engineers. When disasters occur, NRCS programs, including the EWP, can support a sponsor's design and plan for a locally led recovery effort. Visit your local NRCS office to discuss your goals and learn how an NRCS specialist or program can support and expand your operational efforts.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.