Residents of Newton and Sedgwick have the Sand Creek Watershed to thank for keeping water out of their homes as parts of Harvey County has received as much as 15 inches of rain in the past month.
The Sand Creek Watershed is made up of 10 dam sites built between 1976 and 2000.
“There are nine north of town and one between Newton and Sedgwick,” explained SCWD Board President Tom Cowan.
The Sand Creek Watershed drains 64,134 acres — nearly 55,000 acres in Harvey County and the rest within the borders of Marion County.
“They’re pretty impressive structures,” said SCWD Board Vice President Emil Schmidt. ”…It just prevents this flood of water from hitting Newton all at once.”
(Read more: Newton Kansan)