Due to recent dam failure, Bottineau County Water Resource District retained the services of Apex Engineering to provide a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of Westhope County Club Dam to verify the dam was adequately designed. The dam (Water Permit Number 04138) is classified as a low-hazard dam located in the SE ¼ of Section 25, Township 163 North, Range 80 West of Bottineau County. It is owned and maintained by the Westhope Park Board.

The Westhope Dam was originally constructed by the Westhope Park Board in 1989 as a reservoir to supply water for irrigating the Westhope Country Club. The original dam was constructed of rolled earth-fill. In 2009, 2014, and 2017, spring runoff overtopped the dam and washed the emergency spillway. The dam was rebuilt after each dam failure with earth fill. The principal spillway is an uncontrolled drop inlet. The riser structure is a 30” corrugated steel riser with a 24” corrugated steel outlet pipe.

Apex’s tasks included:

• Develop a hydrologic model of the watershed above Westhope Dam.
• Determine the capacity of the principal and emergency spillway.
• Determine if the dam meets current spillway criteria for a class II, Low hazard dam.

Apex has completed the design that meets the North Dakota Dam standard. The construction permit and water permit is currently under review with construction will wrap up in 2022.