Officials keep eye on river

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Officials keep eye on river

Watertown Daily Times - Watertown,WI*

By Adam Tobias of the Daily Times staff

Monday, June 16, 2008

http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/06/16/news/news2.txt

The majority of the weekend was free of rain, but local residents

and business owners are still facing flooding issues because of

record levels of the Rock River.

According to assistant city Engineer Schall, the level of the

Rock River at the United States Geological Survey gauge south of the

lower dam was at 7.4 feet at 8 a.m. today.

The river reached its highest point on Friday at 2 p.m. with a

height of 7.8 feet, which tops the previous record of 6.96 feet set

in 1997.

" I don't know what the predictions are, if the river is going to go

back up or not - I haven't heard anything - but it has gone down a

little bit since Friday, " Schall said.

The river was at 5.6 feet on Wednesday morning.

The flooding of the Rock River has caused several streets in

Watertown to be closed and barricaded, according to street

department Superintendent Rick Schultz. Those roadways are sections

of North Water Street and Spaulding Street, and Oconomowoc Avenue

from South Concord Avenue to East Water Street, and East Gate Drive

from Summit Avenue to Oconomowoc Avenue. West Main Street near the

Kwik Trip gas station was reopened to traffic on Friday.

" The water looks like it has gone down some but it is not totally

off the street so we are going to leave those streets closed until

the water recedes, " Schultz said. " You can see some of the receding

in the streets so that's a good sign and hopefully with no rain this

week we'll make more progress as the week goes along, " Schultz said.

s, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in

Sullivan, said the upcoming week should be relatively free of rain.

" It looks like right now that this week actually should be pretty

dry, " s said. " There is some slight chance stuff through

Thursday, but if there is a little shower that pops up it would be

pretty isolated and not much will come of that. "

Schultz is asking motorists to abstain from driving through the

barricaded streets because it is causing problems for property

owners.

" We are getting a lot of complaints from the residents on people

going around the barricades and what they are doing is creating

wakes in this water, which is creating erosion and more flooding

worries for these people as these wakes come and splash up against

the sandbags, " Schultz said.

Residents in need of sandbags should call the street department

office at 262-4080 during the normal business hours of 7 a.m. to 4

p.m. Those looking for sandbags after 4 p.m. should call the

Watertown Police Department at 261-6660.

The state National Guard has delivered 20,000 sandbags to

communities in Dodge County.

Residents who are looking to get rid of sandbags should call the

street department and crews will pick them up.

" We will come and get the sandbags, " Schultz said. " All we ask is

that residents place their sandbags at the edge of their driveways,

just due to the fact that we have such heavy equipment and I don't

want to be busting up driveways or boulevards. "

Residents who live in flooded areas will still have their trash

collected as normal, Schultz said. He added the street department is

suspending its rules at this time and will pick up property that was

damaged by the flooding.

The Federal Emergency Management Association will be assessing

damages in Wisconsin due to the recent storms and flooding, and

local residents and business owners should report any damages that

have occurred, said Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger.

Jefferson County residents should contact the Jefferson County

Emergency Operations Center at (920) 674-8695 and Dodge County

residents should call the Dodge County Emergency Operations Center

at (920) 386-4060.

Watertown residents may also call the city's municipal building at

262-4000.

State health officials are also encouraging people to seek out

reliable information on addressing mold growth in their homes or

workplaces.

Watertown Health Officer Carol Quest said water damage to structures

usually brought on by the onset of heavy rains can provide the ideal

habitat for mold to grow. She added that molds can cause irritation

and breathing problems, especially for people with asthma, allergies

or other respiratory illnesses.

Quest said molds grow abundantly in outdoor plant and soil materials

and produce spores that are normally found in both indoor and

outdoor dust. Breathing air with high levels of mold spores can be

irritating and can aggravate allergies and asthma, she added.

More serious health effects can be a concern when exposures to mold

spores are very high, such as in sawmills, grain elevators and some

agricultural settings.

" Simply testing for mold is not the answer, " Quest said. " Indoor

mold growth is only one symptom of a larger problem of moisture

intrusion. Damp buildings can lead to a number of other problems

such as bacteria and dust mites. The key is to correct the moisture

problem. "

For more information on mold, visit the Web site,

http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/eh/mold.

" This Web site is a good source of information on how to properly

clean up mold and the conditions that help it to grow, " Quest

said. " You can find easy-to-follow directions for cleaning small

areas of mold growth, but also find guidance on where to go and

questions to ask if you need to call in a specialist. "

Homeowners are cautioned to seek professional assistance for larger

amounts of mold and the state health department's Web site lists

private companies in Wisconsin that do mold remediation and indoor

air quality work, Quest added.

The state health department also worked with the Wisconsin section

of the American Industrial Hygiene Association to create a set of

resource materials for responding to mold concerns, which are also

available on the Web site.

Quest is also asking area residents to refrain from letting their

children play in floodwaters.

" Floodwaters have unseen hazards such as debris, chemical and sewage

contamination, and strong currents, " Quest said. " Taking a few

simple precautions during and after a flood will help keep your

children safe. "

Children's hands should be washed frequently and toys that could

possibly be contaminated should be disinfected with a solution of

eight ounces of bleach and one gallon of water.

Any soft toys that may be contaminated with sewage should be

discarded because young children may put the toys in their mouths,

Quest added.