COLE COUNTY -- The Cole County Commission orders a survey of private dams for potential failure.

Commissioners felt blindsided by the failure of the Renn's Lake Dam during last Thursday night's rain storm.

They see the next step as learning how much they can do and deciding what they should do.

With the use of farm pumps and siphon hoses, crews over the weekend have been able to lower the water in Renn's Lake by about eight feet.

"I looked at it again yesterday and it looks like it has at least stablized itself right now,” Public Works Director Larry Benz said. 

As to plans repairing the 15 -foot -wide gap which opened in the earthen dam.

"That's up in the air right now,” Dam Owner Jerry Renn said. “The main thing is to just keep the water level down so we don't get a repeat of Thursday night's activities.”

The 50-year-old Renn's Lake Dam is far from unique. While it does not regulate dams this small, the Department of Natural Resources has identified nearly three dozen similar dams in the county that represent a threat for failure, mostly because trees grow in them. When the trees die and the roots decay, weaknesses are created inside the dam. It's a potential that at least one commissioner believes has been overlooked far too long.

"We never took care of business when we should have and then we had an incident,” Western District Commissioner Chris Wrigley said. “And now we're faced with trying to do something that we have absolutely zero control over.”

Of Missouri's 5,200 dams, the state regulates only about 650, those over 35 feet tall. In 2007, state lawmakers rejected an attempt to lower the height minimum to 25 feet.

"There are so many dams that could potentially cause real problems and it was vehemently opposed in the legislature," Presiding Commissioner Marc Ellinger said. 

"Sure, the farmers don't want it,” Wrigley said.

The commission must now assess the legal limitations on its own regulatory authority, and where to draw the line. Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher noted the pond dam at his grandmother's farm.

"If it busts, it's just goin' into the creek,” Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher said. “I don't wanna waste time tryin' to determine whether that's gonna be a problem somewhere.”

Ellinger asked public works Benz to get photographs and make a preliminary assessment of the DNR-identified dams in time for next Monday’s commission meeting.