Wisconsin Ag Connection - Residents Around Wisconsin Start Flood Cleanup Efforts

Wisconsin Ag News Headlines

Residents Around Wisconsin Start Flood Cleanup Efforts
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 06/12/2008

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle toured more flood-drenched areas of the state on Wednesday as residents and officials braced for more rain. According to the Associated Press, Department of Natural Resources crews continued to check dams pressured by high water from weekend storms as damage estimates started to roll in.

In south central Wisconsin, crews planned to sandbag portions of Interstates 39 and 90/94 in Columbia County in the hope of avoiding road closures as the Baraboo River continues to rise, Wisconsin Emergency Management spokeswoman Donna Gilson said.

With rain on the way in southwest Wisconsin, state engineers began letting water out of the Primmer Dam in rural Vernon County on Wednesday morning as a precautionary measure. Residents living in two homes sitting "in the shadow of the dam" heeded a voluntary call to evacuate, county spokeswoman Linda Nederlo said.

Across the state, authorities said the Mukwonago Dam, about 30 miles southwest of Milwaukee, was no longer in danger of breaking, after raising concern Tuesday when it became clogged with vegetation.

Doyle visited the dam Wednesday, speaking as torrents of white water gushed over the small dam.

The AP reports that President Bush called Doyle to express concern about the flooding and promised a quick response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued a flash food watch for parts of central and northeast Wisconsin through Friday morning, with heavy rainfall expected south of a line from Marshfield to Green Bay to Kewaunee.

Other Wisconsin Headlines