North Dakota town bracing for water spilling over dam

Officials in North Dakota say more than 600,000 sandbags have been filled to protect the city of Jamestown from water likely to spill from a reservoir upstream.

Tuesday, April 21st 2009, 5:42 pm

By: News 9

North Dakota town bracing for water spilling over dam

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) -- Officials in North Dakota say more than 600,000 sandbags have been filled to protect the city of Jamestown from water likely to spill from a reservoir upstream.
   The Army Corps of Engineers expects water to pour over the spillway at the Jamestown Dam in the next couple of days. Corps water control chief Tim Temeyer says the amount "should be manageable."
   Jamestown is just the latest North Dakota community to face a flood threat this spring.
   Local officials say they are completing a precautionary evacuation plan for low-lying areas in the city of about 15,500 in case dikes fail along the James River.
   Temeyer says reservoirs near Jamestown will be high "for weeks or months."