Flood Damage Assessment Continues; Agriculture Losses Will Be Great

By Joan Sanstadt, News Editor
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

Joan Sanstadt, News Editor

The impact of this month’s flooding in Wisconsin will continue to be assessed for a long time.

But residents, business owners and farmers are far more concerned about what is being done n NOW!

The best news is that the bureaucracy of government seems to be working at a greater than normal pace. That’s true at local, state and federal levels.

We asked a number of state legislators representing flood-stricken areas for comments about their areas so we could share their views with our readers.

Get a number

What homeowners, business owners and farmers need to do first is to register with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). That doesn’t mean showing up at the local FEMA office and expecting immediate help. That help won’t be forthcoming n or probably even discussed - unless you have already registered with FEMA and have a number.

“It is important to follow FEMA procedure and pay attention to the directions being given. Take the first step first; and the second step second. You will only add to the frustration if you do not follow these directions,” emphasized Rep. Andy Jorgensen (D-Fort Atkinson), in a telephone interview with Agri-View on Monday morning.

Jorgensen, who serves on the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said “the Rock River has just crested and the Crawfish River either has or is close to cresting. The Crawfish River is one that usually doesn’t even show up on anyone’s radar,” the lawmaker said, but said in light of its recent flooding “we’re now calling it the Mighty Crawfish.”

The first term legislator said he’s twice flown over the flooded areas “and what I saw will take your breath away. There are fields that look more like lakes than cornfields. State Highway 106 that leads into Fort Atkinson is lined on both sides with sandbags. This is the road that leads right to the hospitals and without those sandbags the road would have been impossible,” Jorgensen said.

While he’s thankful no one has died in his district, damage is considerable. “Yet what we’re seeing is neighbor helping neighbor, a stranger helping a new friend,” he added.

The sometime rural versus urban differences are not in evidence in the flood-torn areas either. Jorgensen told how he was helping in the sandbagging efforts “on one of the worst flooded streets in Fort. There was water up to your chest and the only way to get sandbags to some of the people who needed them the most was to use a boat. A boat could hold only 10 bags at the most and you had to wade and pull the boat to each house.

“A farmer, Dennis Kutz, learned of this and brought in his tractor with its huge tires and his end loader to help. That end loader could deliver a couple hundred sandbags at a time,” Jorgensen reported. “As he was returning from one of those trips, a homeowner waded out and handed him an American flag. He took it and put it on his tractor n and all of the volunteers stopped and watched. It was heart-warming,” Jorgensen continued. “It made us all work a little harder. That farmer probably saved some houses by helping.”

Jorgensen said he’s amazed that “some of the corn is still fighting for its life n but for the most part the field damage is pretty devastating. Cleanup,” he added, “will be difficult not just in cities but also in the countryside.”

As of noon on Monday, Jefferson County had not yet been declared a federal disaster but Jorgensen said “everything is in place for that to happen.”

West central

Rep. Sheryl Albers (R-Reedsburg) represents the 50th Assembly District which includes a lot of communities affected by the flooding. While the much-photographed Lake Delton is nearby, it is not in her district.

Four or five communities she represents didn’t try to appeal their (FEMA) floodplain designations when they were made, which adds to the problems created by the flooding.

In Reedsburg, where Albers lives, about a dozen houses have been condemned. “Most of those are older homes. The other day Reedsburg city officials talked with the Tourism Secretary about turning the area where these houses are located into a campground n the land is all these owners have left. No government program is a handout,” Albers continued, “there are only loans. It’s a pretty sad situation.”

Albers said some farmers “had not reported their damages to FEMA n they thought they only had to report to the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Crop damage in her district has been expansive,” she added.

Adding to the problems created by the flooding is that additional development has been taken place without providing additional runoff provisions. “The neck of the Baraboo River has not been widened or dredged,” Albers added. “If you don’t increase the bottleneck, the water can’t get out any faster and this may have contributed to the problem experienced at Highways 51 and I-39,” she said.

Members of the Mirror Lake Association told Albers “they received no notice the road would be closed. People, who had reservations in the Dells area thought there was no way to get there and many cancelled their reservations. Those kinds of losses to the tourism industry can be staggering.”

Albers said she’d experienced frustration more than once when trying to get her questions answered n or even to get through busy telephone lines that were taxed beyond their capacity. “On June 13, I called the Department of Transportation trying to get elevations at water level on Highways 33 and 94. Despite assurances I’d get a call back, that didn’t happen n I couldn’t get an answer.”

A native of the area, Albers said “looking back up river, I could tell what would happen depending on those elevations.”

In some instances people were communicating with the Department of Natural Resources, but not with the emergency centers.

“Everyone is trying to do their best, but telephone lines were out both in Reedsburg and in La Valle at a time when sewer problems in both places needed to be dealt with. The magnitude of the cost associated with those sewer system failures will also be staggering,” she said.

“Richard Gumz said at every point on the Baraboo River where there was a new bridge, there were no provisions for increased water flow. If capacity at culverts is not increased, when a flood occurs, the water will go over the road and wash out the underlying foundations. There are levees that need repair and ditches that need dredging,” Albers continued.

“At this point in time, Richard said he doesn’t know if anything in Fairfield can be replanted n and right now there is a lot of failed acreage. Looking ahead to future needs, there needs to be a short term plan and a long term plan for the waterway n and that means the Baraboo River. People who live there can’t wait two years for permits from the DNR,” Albers said.

“Sometimes when a disaster has occurred government gets in the way n I just hope this time they’ll make an effort to get out of the way. This is a time when people all have to pull together,” she added.

While the Sunday paper commended heroes who’d stepped forward to help with the flooding, Albers believes there are many more.

For its part, Albers doesn’t want to see the government simply put people in energy-inefficient trailers instead of homes. “There are plenty of homes for sale in Reedsburg right now. Putting people in trailers can mean high energy bills that many cannot afford to pay,” she warned.

Western area

Rep. Lee Nerison (R-Westby) told Agri-View the flooding in his district “looks worse in some communities than it did last August. Up and down the whole Kickapoo River, from Ontario to Steuben, there was more water this time than in August of 2007.”

Nerison said a dike broke in Soldiers Grove, the community that was flooded in 1978 and that was literally moved to higher ground. “Now in the park area there are foundations and footers sticking up out of the ground n and a lot have been washed out,” he said.

Last August crops suffered but you could see what had been damaged. “This year the crops are still in the ground and I don’t think many farmers will be able to get back into those fields. I don’t think many may be able to overcome crop losses two years in a row n think of the fuel and the costs of inputs to replant,” he said, “and that doesn’t even take into account the labor. I don’t know how many will be able to manage this n even with a zero interest loan. Added debt could put many over the top. What’s needed most are grants, not loans,” Nerison said.

Nerison’s district also encompasses quite a bit of ridge land which will not be as impacted by flood waters. “A lot of land has pockets of water. Where water stood, the corn is turning yellow. And the fields are just so hard n it’s just like standing on a cement floor. It’s almost as if you have to get in there and cultivate; yet cultivating is a thing of the past in most places,” he noted.

He’s also concerned about many of the small businesses located in the village of Gays Mills n the same place where many suffered losses last August. “A small business in a small town can’t borrow the kind of money that will be needed,” he said.

Would a special session of the legislation be of help? Nerison said he didn’t know. “We all know we have problems because of the flooding. We could go into a special session, but unless we had an idea of some kind of plan to help with the real problems that exist, it won’t help to go in and wring our hands and say how bad it is. We’d need a game plan n and be able to have some answers ready before a special session would take place. Otherwise, a special session wouldn’t be very productive,” he predicted.

One of Nerison’s concerns is the lack of money for dams. “That’s long been one of my concerns,” he declared. “We have Stewardship money to buy land, but if we don’t protect our dams, there won’t be anything below to buy. I’m going to go over the budget again to see if there is anything we can figure out that could help.”

Southwest

Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), former Senate Majority Leader, knows how helpful easy-to-access information can be.

That’s why he’s made a special effort to compile helpful disaster recovery resources at his website http://www.senatordaleschultz.com.

The website is updated daily with the latest word from FEMA, state and county emergency management and other sources.

“The information is for everyone, people who have suffered losses and those who want to help,” Schultz said. “There was an unmet need for a clearinghouse specific to our region,” Schultz said. “The focus is on resources to help families, communities and businesses including up-to-date volunteer opportunities to help neighbors with clean up.

If you have suffered flood-related loses or want to help others, go to the Disaster Response Resources page at the website.

There is even a link to UW-Extension that provides scientific information related to flooding, crop damage, how to assess damage n many other tips that will be useful to farmers.

In a phone interview, Schultz said “the water in my area at least has pretty much receded n not we’re going into a long and slow recovery process.

“There are a lot of small places in south central and southwestern Wisconsin that got hit badly and where families are suffering. Our challenge is to remind others that people here will continue to need assistance. The helicopters and the TV crews are gone, but the cleanup responsibilities are still here,” Schultz said.

“The whole purpose for my website’s Disaster Response Resources page was to make it easy for people who wanted to make a contribution to find out how to do it. Banks have set up special accounts and there are other ways listed,” he said.

“There is no question we have had substantial damage to our public infrastructure such as highways and bridges. Local officials are used to dealing with FEMA and so they have done reasonably well with documentation, but the full assessment on damage will not be known for awhile. Making those assessments is a big responsibility for local officials, many of whom are farmers,” Schultz continued.

The senator went on to describe a flood-created lake covering thousands of acres of ag land located north of Highway 14. “Over the years Highway 14 has been raised and as a result water is dammed up behind roads more than ever before. We tried to get permission from the DOT to cut through Highway 14 to drain some of that water. The DOT wouldn’t allow that but it did allow Highway 130 to be cut and this was done,” Schultz said.

(That “lake” covered land is where a lot of higher valued vegetables sold at farm markets are grown.)

Schultz described cutting through Highway 130 as a “short-term answer. What needs to be done,” he said, “is to work with local officials, engineering companies, state and federal authorities to see if we can’t find a long-term solution for those landowners.”

Flood insurance n or the lack of it n and the problems associated with that need is also something the veteran lawmaker wants to see kept on the front burner. “I have a real interest in making sure the Insurance Commissioner’s office stays engaged on this. People were told they couldn’t buy flood insurance and now are severely affected by the lack of it. There are a lot of homes in the Town of Spring Green where this happened and where people are facing financial ruin as a result,” he said. “We’re going to continue to follow this.”

While FEMA has been pretty good at working with local officials, Schultz is “very concerned” about how well the agency will work with individuals and their losses.

“For many n such as those who turned out at a meeting in Reedsburg - their homes are their largest asset. That’s also true of people in La Valle and Rock Springs. The people in these areas have been extremely hard hit n we’re working to keep the focus on some of these smaller communities. They don’t make good TV and so it is easier for government and the public to forget what’s going on there and what happened to the people. My challenge is to keep the focus on these areas and the people and I plan to do that to the best of my ability,” Schultz pledged.

Capitol Notes:

- The DNR said the flooding is good for fish in the state’s waters.

- The Wetlands Association staff is emphasizing the importance of wetlands in flood control. Citing Environmental Protection Agency statistics, they point out one acre of wetlands can store one million gallons of water.

- Mike Stranz, Abrams, will spend the next eight weeks as an intern in the National Farmers Union Washington D.C. office. Stranz will graduate in December from UW-Madison, where he is majoring in ag economics and ag journalism.

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