Here & Now

Preview: How Northwestern Wisconsin Grapples with Flooding

Frederica Freyberg:

Coming in the next week, we are kicking off some collaborative reporting with our colleagues at WisContext on the topic of climate change and flooding. In recent years, torrential rains and floods have caused millions of dollars in damage in northwest Wisconsin. And most experts say 500-year flood events are becoming more common. “Here & Now” reporter Zac Schultz traveled to Sawyer County to find out what’s being done to prepare. In this preview, we’ll hear why high water and minor flooding are permanent fixtures in Sawyer County.

Sandy Okamoto:

I did have carpeting down here but that all rotted.

Zac Schultz:

Sandy Okamoto feels like most of the water in Sawyer County comes through her basement.

Sandy Okamoto:

This whole area floods and it comes in everywhere.

Zac Schultz:

She says after heavy rains, the groundwater sprays into the basement in her house and her rental property next door.

Sandy Okamoto:

It’s like someone’s standing with a squirt gun behind the walls and just, it comes through everywhere.

Zac Schultz:

When the forecast calls for heavy rains, Sandy can’t sleep.

Sandy Okamoto:

Very overwhelming. All I do is run back and forth between the two houses and move pumps and move hoses.

Zac Schultz:

But Sandy says it wasn’t like this when she bought these houses. This creek and neighboring Shue’s pond would occasionally dry up.

Sandy Okamoto:

Like I say, there wasn’t even water in this creek. I mowed. It was bone dry. I mowed across it.

Zac Schultz:

The water level in places around Sawyer County is just higher than it’s ever been.

Don Hamblin:

It’s at the bottom of the drainage system so it has nowhere to go from here.

Zac Schultz:

Don Hamblin is both the fire chief and the public works director for the town of Hayward so he’s been monitoring this road.

Don Hamblin:

Now that it’s underwater, there’s definitely going to be some structure issues that will have to be addressed.

Zac Schultz:

When the water recedes, he can fix the road, but the bigger question is how soon will he have to do it again?

Don Hamblin:

Are we going to be addressing these problems continually for the next 20, 50 years?

Frederica Freyberg:

You can see the full report next Friday followed by an interview with State Transportation Secretary-designee Craig Thompson. Our partners at WisContext.org dig into this topic next week as well. Will Cushman reports how other northwest Wisconsin communities are grappling with rebuilding after repeated flooding and storms. That story will be posted on Thursday at WisContext.org.