COLE COUNTY -- As daylight broke, Renn's Lake appeared noticeably lower, even after the rain fall last night. With large pumps and a number of siphon hoses pulling the water out at a rate of about 40,000 gallons a minute, flood crews averted disaster. 

"We kinda got set back a little be about midnight when we had a really heavy shower come through,” Public Works Director Larry Benz said. “And actually, the water level started comin' back up on us. About one o'clock or a little after, we finally started gettin' ahead of it and the water knocked down.”

Also more apparent in the daylight was the earth slide that threatened the lake. About 15 feet wide, the collapse shaved the dam halfway in on the outside wall.

Just below the earthen structure sits Braun's Auto Repair. Donnie Braun got no sleep last night. He'd never seen the dam so near a complete failure.

"It's gonna have to be rebuilt right or taken out, one of the two,” Braun said. “I dunno. It's all gonna have to be talked about.”

County Commissioner Marc Ellinger said this near tragedy was a wake-up call.

“There are other private dams in the county that have trees groin' in 'em, that are gonna cause these types of problems in the future," Presiding Commissioner Marc Ellinger said.

Ellinger said that the dam issue will be put on the next commission agenda.

While the Department of Natural Resources had people on scene overnight, the state does not have regulatory authority over the Renns Lake Dam.

Spokesman Travis Ford said state rules and inspections apply only to dams over 35 feet tall.

The Renns Lake Dam is only 30 feet.