Did SD dike exacerbate MN flood?

Interesting question. The answer probably is "yes". Read on:

Farmer's dike may have worsened Browns Valley flood

Excerpt:

State and local officials are looking into whether a dike built in recent years by a farmer to protect his farm buildings may have contributed to last week's flood in Browns Valley, Minn.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty raised the issue in a letter to legislators on Monday, which primarily suggested several ways they could provide financial relief for Browns Valley. The dike was among the concerns that residents brought to Pawlenty during his visit to Browns Valley last week and that the governor was relaying to legislators, said his spokesman, Brian McClung.

About 50 houses in Browns Valley were significantly damaged by ice and water from the Little Minnesota River.

The dike, which is actually in South Dakota, protects some buildings on the Roger Haanen farm just beyond Browns Valley's southwestern corner. Last week, an official with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Sisseton, S.D., which deals with the Little Minnesota, said the farmer didn't need a permit to construct the dike