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Water subsides in Elizabeth area
Published 11:23am Wednesday, August 31, 2011What a difference four months makes when it comes to water levels west of Elizabeth.
On May 1 a portion of Highway 10, about four miles west of Elizabeth, was closed due to high water. To the south, water flowed naturally from the south side of Oscar Lake.
Today that stretch of roadway is open, all the way to the underpass at Interstate 94.
Before the closing in late April, roadway signs along Highway 10 warned approaching vehicles, heading west or east, about the high water near Lein Lake. Law enforcement personnel urged drivers to slow down and use extreme caution.
Last spring, on the east side of Elizabeth, also along Highway 10 as the road heads toward County Highway 27, water from a nearby slough was precariously close to the highway. Today that stretch of roadway also is free of water.
Water from Oscar Lake, west of Elizabeth, eventually reaches Wilkin County. An underground outlet was closed until the end of the spring thaw. Water released naturally, due to high water, runs into Ditch 2 and eventually ends up in Wilkin County. A culvert was installed previously to protect upstream interests.
In January Otter Tail County and Wilkin County agreed to jointly coordinate placement of rocks as part of a riprap erosion blanket at the outlet of Oscar Lake.
Stretches of some county roadways are closed in the Little McDonald Lake area of eastern Otter Tail County, west of Perham. Other areas of the county have water which is still close to roadways.
Updates appear each day on the Otter Tail County website. A county map also can be viewed online.
Tags: Elizabeth, high water
