JEFFERSON — The National Weather Service at Sullivan has issued a flood warning for Jefferson County waterways due to heavy rain, combined with high temperatures and snowmelt. These factors mean the Rock, Crawfish and Bark rivers, among others, could breach their banks in the coming days.
“Flooding is definitely a concern, especially when you add in those above-normal temperatures, which will help in melting the snow that is already on the ground,” Aidan Kuroski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service said.
In what has become a rite of spring, Jefferson County leaders — much to their chagrin — must prepare for possible flooding of these area rivers.
Jefferson County Emergency Management Director Donna Haugom confirmed her concerns that flooding could become a problem.
“The mild temperatures and up to an inch of rain predicted this week certainly will help to melt the snowpack,” Haugom said. “Unfortunately, the ground is still frozen and that will increase the runoff into waterways, creating some flooding situations. We certainly will also experience some water across certain roads within the county.”
She said one of the primary concerns right now is the potential for ice jams.
Officials have been monitoring the Rock River in Watertown in particular. They are trying not to open the dam too fast in order to avoid potential ice jams.
“It is one of the things I still don’t know how to deal with,” Haugom said.
Currently, she is concerned about projections that the area water levels will not get into moderate flood levels until into next week. She suggested that, based on the current levels, it might get higher than that.
“I’m concerned because we were high coming into the winter,” Haugom said of the water levels. “We still don’t have the snowpack melted and we still haven’t come into spring. We’re going to get rain into spring. We’re high now, we’re going to stay high and the ground is still frozen. We’re going to have some issues coming into spring, I’m pretty sure.”
The emergency management director acknowledged that everyone is wondering whether Jefferson County will see a repeat of the record-setting flood of 2008.
“We didn’t have the winter that we had from 2007-08,” Haugom said.
However, the water levels were higher in 2018 than occurred in 2007, including the late fall flooding in August, September and October.
Haugom said her department has maintained contact with the municipalities within Jefferson County and is hosting a meeting Friday with the National Weather Service regarding the spring flood outlook for Jefferson County.
“Jefferson County has acquired additional sandbags and has re-enforced our connections with the state and other resources,” Haugom said. “We are asking people to please be careful when crossing roads covered with water, and we want them to remember the catch-phrase ‘Turn around, don’t drown.’”
She advised that people be proactive when protecting their belongings.
“Contact your municipality for assistance and, as always, we are here to provide any and all support,” Haugom said.
Meanwhile, area municipalities are preparing for high-water situations.
“The city is readying its plans to address likely flood conditions along the Rock and Crawfish rivers,” Jefferson City Administrator Tim Freitag said. “Efforts include inventorying required materials such as sandbags and sand, and pumps, for instance. We are replenishing stocks of these materials when needed. It is really important to have adequate stocks of materials before a flood event.”
Freitag pointed out that if significant flooding affects a large area, such as Southern Wisconsin or the entire Upper Midwest, these materials will become scarce.
“The city has started filling sandbags with its staff and Department of Corrections personnel,” the administrator said, “Our goal is to have approximately 3,500 to 5,000 sandbags on hand. That is about what we can store if they are not needed before a flood event.”
Empty sandbags are available at the Jefferson Police Department and sand has been placed at the city garage for residents to fill their own sandbags. There is no fee for the sandbags or sand at this time. Residents are responsible for placement of sandbags at their residences and are encouraged to take measures to protect their own properties.
People whose property is imminently threatened by floodwaters should contact Jefferson City Hall or the Jefferson Police Department after hours.
On Thursday afternoon, the Rock River was recorded at 9.78 feet, just below the 10-foot minor flood stage. It is projected to reach around 10.9 feet over the weekend, just below the moderate flood stage.
In September, the water levels rose to the fifth-highest recorded total of 11.72 feet, according to National Weather Service records. Had it reached the projected 12.3 feet, the Rock River would have been in the range of the 2013 and 1993 floods levels.
Based on available records, the historic 2008 flood, which peaked at 15.64 feet in Jefferson, marked the first known time the water levels ever had surpassed the major flood stage of 13 feet.
Freitag is asking the public to be both aware and vigilant regarding the water levels along the Rock and Crawfish rivers. He reiterated that the projections could change based upon forecasts of rain and the rate of the snowmelt.
Potential impacts to the city likely would be observed first in the areas of East Riverview Drive and the intersection of Main and Dane streets. East Riverview Drive might be closed due to high water in the street near the Tensfeldt Park boat launch and city’s wastewater treatment plant. Currently, all city boat launches are closed, as are Riverfront Park and Tensfeldt Park until further notice.
The city administrator requested that motorists not drive through any areas with standing water.
Also, he recommended that sump pump discharges be directed to lawns and not into floor drains to minimize impact on the treatment plant.
Meanwhile, he added, “We are anticipating no disruption to any city services.”
Downstream, the Rock River in Fort Atkinson was recorded at 15.33 feet Thursday afternoon and projected to continue to rise to around 16.2 feet. The river had crested around 17.31 feet around Sept. 11, among the top five recorded crests. The record remains 20.9 feet recorded during the 2008 flood.
Bark River Road is closed and Fort Atkinson Fire Chief and emergency management director Daryl Rausch acknowledged that other area roadways might be closed or have cautionary signs due to water on the road, including Sinnisssippi Drive, Ralph Road, Rock River Road, Vets Lane, and portions of Blackhawk Island Road, heading into the weekend.
Rausch advised that motorists not drive through the high waters on any of the closed roads because that causes problems for adjacent property owners, as well as potential safety issues for themselves.
As of Thursday afternoon, he said, he primarily had heard reports of localized basement flooding generally related to groundwater issues and not from high river levels.
“We are expecting a crest somewhere over 16 feet,” Rausch said of the Rock River.
Sand and sandbags are available to city residents at the Fort Atkinson Department of Public Works garage. Rausch emphasized, though, that residents must fill and haul their own bags.
Empty bags may be obtained, after hours, at the fire station, and sand is available 24/7 outside the gates at the city garage.
“I don’t expect we are going to have a lot of people, but we always have a few that need a window well or doorway that needs to be protected,” Rausch said.
He said the river is open down to nearly Patten’s Marine. However, there was an ice dam in that vicinity Thursday afternoon that likely was playing a role in the significant rise at the Fort Atkinson gauge.
“We had over a foot of rise overnight,” Rausch said, noting that the Lake Koshkonong icecap holds back water. “I’m assuming that is what is causing the problem and until the lake ice goes out, that is going to continue to be an issue.”
He said he is hopeful the projected rise will go down in the next few days.
Watertown Mayor John David said the city has many sandbags filled and ready to go.
“We also have many bags ready to be filled with sand,” he said. “We have been working to open up all of our catch basins, and we would also ask our citizens to help if they know of any catch basins that may be clogged.”
David said citizens also should report any choked basins and city workers will open them.
“We also are keeping an eye on our stormwater ditches to make sure they are open and clear,” David said.
To date in Jefferson County, no recreational areas have been closed due to high water. County officials regularly monitor the safety at locations including Kanow Park on Rock River Road, Town of Ixonia; Rock River Park along County Highway B, Johnson Creek; Cappie’s Landing on Jefferson Road, Watertown; Burnt Village Park at N2028 County Highway N; and Altpeter Park at W7786 Lamp Road.
There have been some road closures due to water over the road.
County Highway J east of County Highway G was closed due to the water from the adjacent fields running across the roadway in the Town of Jefferson.
Bark River Road from Rock River Road to Kutz Road is closed due to water over the road in the Town of Koshkonong.
Also, Marsh Road from County Highay A to South Cedar Road is closed due to water over the road in the Town of Oakland.
Also, Jefferson County is under a slow/no wake order for the portion of the Rock River downstream from the Dodge/Jefferson counties line to Lake Koshkonong.
It covers all rivers and streams within the county; lakes are under the jurisdiction of the local municipality.
Gauges on Thursday showed levels of 7.96 feet on Lake Koshkonong and 10.65 feet at Afton. Both gauges indicated an anticipated continued rise in the water levels into late this week to approximately major flood stage of 11.2 feet at Lake Koshkonong and near the moderate flood stage of 11 feet at Afton.
The Crawfish River was recorded at 6.03 feet Thursday afternoon and is expected to crest around 8 feet, below moderate flood stage of 9 feet, by sometime early next week. The record level was set in 2008 at 13.56 feet. The current level is not even in the top 10 historical crests, per National Weather Service records. The water peaked at 8.62 feet in September during another period of high water levels and heavy rainfall.
Along the Rock River in Watertown, water levels were recorded at 5.34 feet Thursday afternoon, just under the minor flood stage of 5.5 feet.
At flood stage, there is widespread lowland flooding in rural areas around Watertown. At the moderate flood stage of 6 feet, water starts to reach some of the streets within the city.
Flood stage is labeled a 10-year flood by the National Weather Service. Current projections based on the forecast rainfall show the levels remain just below minor flood stage into next week.
In both August and September of 2018, the water levels reached 5.77 and 5.94 feet, respectively. The record level for the Watertown gauge was set in 2008 at 7.81 feet. According to National Weather Service records, if the crest reaches 6.4 feet, that would be the third-highest level, surpassing those in 1993, 2013 and 1959.
The Bark River was recorded at 3.41 feet at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. Per the records on the National Weather Service site, that level puts it in the top five highest recorded, with the record being 4.59 feet during the 2008 flood. Last fall, the Bark River peaked around 3.16 feet.
All current river forecasts take into account past precipitation and any rain expected within the next 24 hours.
For more information on flood-related concerns, residents are urged to contact their respective community leaders.
Otherwise in Fort Atkinson, they should contact the Fort Atkinson Fire Department at (920) 563-7795; and in Jefferson, the Jefferson City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (920) 674-7700 or Jefferson Police Department at (920) 674-7707.