MANAWA (NBC 26) — Manawa continues to make progress on constructing a new dam after last summer's torrential rain devastated the city.
- Manawa has secured around $450,000 in grant funding for flood recovery, with designs for dam and spillway solutions in progress
- The city is considering turning flood-affected areas into a park along the Little Wolf River if the dam reconstruction isn’t approved
- The July 5, 2024 storm caused the partial failure of the Manawa Millpond dam, flooding homes and overwhelming the wastewater facility
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
According to Mayor Mike Frazier, the city secured a nearly $450,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture on January 2 to repair major washouts near the Little Wolf River, Sturm Memorial Library, and the local Kobussen Busses depot.
“There's still a long way to go, a lot of legal and administrative work, but there's progress,” said Mayor Mike Frazier, talking to me over the phone.
Cedar Corporation, based out of Green Bay, is the city’s engineering firm. Frazier says multiple designs for dam and spillway solutions are being considered, but all parties involved are awaiting approval from the Department of Natural Resources before they can proceed further.
As an alternative plan, the city is considering turning the area that was once the Manawa Millpond into a park, running along what once was the Little Wolf River if reconstruction of the dam isn’t approved.
What isn't clear is how the potential alternative plan will affect the property values for now-former waterfront homeowners in Manawa.
The July 5, 2024 storm caused the partial failure of the Manawa Millpond dam, draining more than 703 million gallons of water downstream. The flood overwhelmed the city’s wastewater treatment facility, prompted a temporary boil water advisory, and flooded Lindsay Athletic Park with sewage. Some homes were evacuated due to rising waters, including the city nursing home.
The flood also forced the cancellation of the city’s annual Mid-Western Rodeo, a major economic and cultural event for the city.
Despite the destruction, the community came together to help those in need. Local residents organized water drives, high school volunteers provided dumpsters for water-damaged items, and the Veteran’s Home in King opened its doors to seniors displaced from a nursing home.
“This is Wisconsin. This is what makes a small community great,” Frazier said, speaking with me back when the disaster first happened.
