 Bentonville city officials say it could be more than three years before a flood-damaged dam at Lake Bella Vista can be replaced.

The dam's north end was destroyed by record-breaking rain in late April. City parks and recreation director David Wright tells the Benton County Daily Record the dam is so unstable if another such rain fell in the area, what's left of the dam would wash away.

The city is waiting for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine if the damage warrants federal funds to replace it. Wright says FEMA has declared the dam a national disaster site.

City engineer Ben Peters thinks the city eventually will receive FEMA funding. He says the city will campaign to build a new concrete dam farther down Little Sugar Creek.