Here & Now

How Long Will Wisconsin Stay Under Water?

Frederica Freyberg:
Major flooding is still reported near the Baraboo River in Sauk County, though with dry weather prominent right now, water is starting to recede, again. We say that because the flooding receded earlier this week, only to come back.

Amber Halverson:
Not sure what to do next. Do you go back to your home? Do you let it go? All your stuff is gone.

Frederica Freyberg:
Amber Halverson sums it up for her neighbors in Reedsburg, inundated in a second round of flooding this week. The Baraboo River runs through the small city and it’s way out of its banks, raging way over flood stage.

Jeff Spencer:
This is a disaster. This whole side of the county along the Baraboo River is — it’s hit us pretty significant. As you can see. This is how it is in La Valle, Reedsburg, Rock Springs, North Freedom and into Baraboo.

Frederica Freyberg:
Sauk County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jeff Spencer toured the found zones midweek, confounded he says, by how the water had gone down after last week, only to rise again.

Jeff Spencer:
This one is acting different than what they’ve seen in the past. From what we’ve been told, the river’s been unpredictable.

Frederica Freyberg:
Because streets like this one had reopened. Flooded-out residents had started clean-up. It rained again, but still.

Beverly Starnes:
It receded and then they called us and said, “Ok, now move your cars. It’s happening all over again.” I went, “Oh.” And that’s kinda I think we all got even more anxiety.

Frederica Freyberg:
Beverly Starnes is not sure she’ll stay in her house. She says it’s just too much. But even in the worst of it, residents maintain touches of humor.

Frederica Freyberg:
And when you saw it was raining again, what was that like?

Man:
Start sandbagging.

Frederica Freyberg:
Sandbags, yes. This is what North Freedom along the Baraboo River in Sauk County looked like from the air this morning. By day’s end what is happening with flooding and river levels? Will more sandbagging be needed in the coming days? We turn to Andrew Mangham, who is a hydrologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He works in the North-central River Forecast Center in Chanhassen, Minnesota where he joins us via Skype. Thanks for doing so.

Andrew Mangham:
Happy to do so.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is the latest with the Baraboo River and its levels?

Andrew Mangham:
Right, the Baraboo River is very high. We’re still in major flooding category at several points. It is, however, cresting right now and is expected to start going down this evening.

Frederica Freyberg:
So some people in Sauk County have described these conditions as very different from past floods, like two 100-year floods in a week. Are they right about that?

Andrew Mangham:
Well, what makes it 100-year flood is a bit of a complicated thing. However they’re not wrong. These were two very extreme events. The first event that happened was sparked by rainfall at the end of August. That was absolutely an historic event. We broke records at certain — not on the Baraboo but in the Kickapoo River — we broke records by as much as five feet. It was absolutely catastrophic. Then it was followed up almost exactly a week later by a second round of very heavy rain that fell right on these wet, flooded conditions and it caused a second event that was also very, very extreme. We went right back up into major flood category as well. I don’t have the exact numbers of what the 100-year flood looks like right there, but they’re probably not wrong.

Frederica Freyberg:
So where else in Wisconsin — I know you just mentioned the Kickapoo — so we’re looking at the Kickapoo and the Baraboo River but where else have there been major flooding concerns?

Andrew Mangham:
Right now the two other hot spots for flooding concerns are actually Madison, Wisconsin, where they got some very extreme rainfall right in the middle of the town. Unfortunately that then drains into the lakes and rises the lake levels to historically high levels. That’s a very slow-draining system so they’re going to be stuck with high water on the lakes for a while. We also had quite a bit of rain over the Rock River, which is where the lakes in Madison drain into, which is compounding the problem. So the Rock River is also in moderate to very strongly moderate flooding category as well. That river system goes south through Wisconsin all the way into Illinois, eventually draining into the Mississippi. And is flooding from top to bottom.

Frederica Freyberg:
So the slow-draining conditions in Madison are what explains how it — we haven’t had huge rains and yet they keep talking about the levels could kind of be coming up still.

Andrew Mangham:
Yeah. That’s absolutely right. We did have pretty big rains. We saw a 24-hour report from I believe right at Hilldale Mall in Madison that was right just under 11 inches in 24 hours. So that’s really extreme.

Frederica Freyberg:
Right.

Andrew Mangham:
That’s the rain that’s causing these lake levels to be high. This is what I mean by a slow-draining system. That rain went into the lakes and rose the levels. Then we had this other second round of rain that was fairly light, but it didn’t help anything. So, yeah, that slow-draining system is just holding the water right now.

Frederica Freyberg:
Really quickly, days ahead look better?

Andrew Mangham:
Yes. They absolutely do. We are in at least a dry spell for at least a week is what we’re looking at. That’s going to help definitely the rivers in Baraboo and the Kickapoo. Those are coming down and should return to safe levels and it’s also going to help the Rock.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right. Andrew Mangham, thank you so much.

Andrew Mangham:
You’re welcome.