Expert Alert: Dam in southern Minnesota in danger of “imminent failure” due to flooding

Civil Engineering Professor John Gulliver studies the development of technologies to treat stormwater runoff

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (06/26/2024) — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard to help fight rising floodwaters in southern Minnesota this past weekend. The Rapidan Dam near Mankato is in “imminent failure condition,” according to officials in Blue Earth County after flooding on the Blue Earth River. The National Weather Service stated that as of Tuesday, the Minnesota River at Mankato is expected to crest just below major flood stage. The town of Waterville is under a state of emergency as parts of the city are underwater due to flooding of the Cannon River. 

John Gulliver, a civil engineer and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering, can comment on the current situation.

John Gulliver, Ph.D.

“We are entering an era of increasing extreme storms. This will affect the man-made infrastructure that interacts with water runoff.  Dams, bridges, levies, storm sewers, and stormwater management facilities will need to be re-evaluated, repaired, and replaced under this new era. To accomplish this, costs will be substantial, so these tasks will need to be performed in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.”

Gulliver’s major research interests are preventing pollution caused by stormwater runoff and understanding mass transport in environmental systems, which is the change in physical location or state of chemical elements or pollutants as they move within a system.

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Contact:

John Gulliver
Professor Emeritus
Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering
[email protected]