Two months later Sauk Co. Wisconsin homes and farms remain flooded

[HereSince1628]

Two months after heavy rains flooded much of Wisconsin, Sauk County homes and farms remain underwater, with dollar losses reaching tens of millions

By NICK HALTER
[e-mail]
Posted: Aug. 14, 2008


Farmer Jerry Sprecher of Spring Green says 250 of his 500 acres are still underwater and impossible to farm after heavy rains in June caused extensive flooding. Spring Green cemetery shows no sign of drying out, as algae encrusts headstones and graves remain soaked or muddy.

Stagnant water is still 3 feet deep in some places. On a calm day, the smell of moldy earth is unmistakable. Farmers, residents and business owners are questioning why waves still ripple in their fields and backyards, why their basements are still inundated.

In June, inches upon inches of rain poured onto hills two miles north of Spring Green. Water gushed into Big Hollow valley toward Highway 14. And then it stopped. A mile and a half from the banks of the Wisconsin River, the water pooled up in farm fields, creating dozens of 160-acre lakes and submerging part of the village.

<snip>

Basements are full to the brim and 2 feet of siding soaks in floodwater on homes at the Prairie View subdivision near Highways 14 and 23. Many owners have left their houses to rot. Town officials said 41 homeowners in the subdivision have applied for buyouts, which could take 18 months. In Sauk County, more than 1,600 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Nearby on Highway 14, Denny Milanovic pumps water out of the basement of the Prairie House Motel, which he bought in May 2007 for almost $1 million. The smell is enough to make a visitor gag. The basement is a black abyss. Corners of furniture and filing cabinets poke above the surface. Milanovic pumps the water to no avail; the water table is above the basement, and the water flows right back in. The Serbian immigrant wants to retrieve his passport and other vital paperwork from the basement, but he can’t.

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20,000 acres lost
Sauk County emergency management officials said countywide agriculture losses reached $40 million. Homeowners and businesses lost $30 million. UW Extension estimated 20,000 acres of crops were destroyed, and a dozen farms in the Town of Spring Green still have standing water.

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Young farmers without insurance and large mortgage payments could be wiped out, said Sauk County Conservationist Joe Van Berkel. There is no plan in place for relief for the farmers and there may never be, he said. “Right now, that’s the reality,” he said. “There is not an easy answer on the horizon for them. And we are talking extensive crop losses in the area.” The Sprechers didn’t buy crop insurance. Floods are rare and droughts are impossible with his irrigation system, Jerry Sprecher said.

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If the water isn’t gone soon, it might be an interesting winter in Spring Green. “Maybe the farmers are going to have to take up ice skating for their winter entertainment,” Jerry Sprecher said.

[madrchsod]

1. i`ve only been through that area one or two times

during the last 40yrs of wisconsin road tripping. i wonder why the land does`t drain. i`m going up that way in october for a few days of vaction..looks like it will be the dells.

[HereSince1628]

2. Spring Green is where F.L. Wright's Taliesan is

also near House on The Rock. No where near the Dells. When you get up there be sure to visit the former Lake Delton now mud flats. I am pretty sure the area would gratefully benefit by your tourism dollars.

[madrchsod]

3. we are going to the dells in october...

a local resident moved up there several years ago and bought a bar on the lake. i guess we`d better stop in and spend some money.