PERU, Ind. (AP): A state agency says six dams on small lakes in a northern Indiana subdivision need about $1.5 million in repairs that the homeowners should pay to have completed.

Some of the about 20 property owners in the Hidden Hills neighborhood just outside the city of Peru maintain the dams are too small to fall under the jurisdiction of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The Kokomo Tribune reports the DNR says failure of the dams could pose serious risk to homes downstream. The agency says the dams built to create lakes for the neighborhood were never permitted or inspected.

Miami County commissioner Larry West is among the property owners. He says the DNR hasn't done a proper study to back up its findings.