website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
FLOODS, 1982 AND 2008
1982 Flood
6.65 inches
in a 24 hour period
www.wdtimes.com/articles/2007/07/07/in_times_square/times01.txt
Local and area residents got a precursor of things to come on July 6-7 when
1.63 inches of rain fell. Combined with
that rain were some extremely powerful winds which tipped over a mobile home
east of the city. So strong were the
winds that some people said it was a hurricane or tornado that hit.
A number of trees were down and there was some minor flooding in many of
the normal lowland areas. A few people
were injured as a direct result of the storms, but that was nothing compared to
what lay in store just a few days later.
It was Saturday, July 10, 1982, when the skies opened and deluge of
water hit the city. Anyone who was here
back on that day and the days that followed will have vivid memories of the day
and the havoc it caused virtually everywhere.
The rain came down literally by the bucket. Between 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 10, 1982,
and 7 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, the city's official weather station at the
wastewater treatment plant recorded a record 6.65 inches of rain fell. Watertown's official weather observer, Dick
Hoge, reported that same day that his rain gauge showed 6.03 inches in that
24-hour period. Making this more
dramatic, most of that 6 plus inches fell in a short period of time during the
day.
That freak storm left nearly double the former record for rainfall in a
24 hour period Dick Hoge said at the time that the former record was 3.54
inches on June 30, 1938.
Four homes had extensive damages to the foundations when water flooded
into them and then pressure was so great cement, stone or block walls simply
crumbled. Many streets in the city had
three, four or more feet of water in them.
A couple of the homes with foundation problems were in the area of Jones
Street and Dewey Avenue. Residents in
the area said it was like a rushing river through their back yards, from Maple
Street west to Dewey Avenue.
The Beaver Dam and Juneau fire departments were called in under mutual
aid agreements to help pump water from basements and businesses. The task was complicated by the saturated
ground. The water pumped out had to be
pushed away from the buildings so it didn't seep
right back in.
Many cars were filled with water, causing not only thousands of dollars
of damage but also stranding a number of people.
So powerful was the flooding that South Concord Avenue was closed
because of a mud slide and the same situation happened on Highway 109, now
County Trunk R, at County Trunk EM.
Electricity was shut off in the South Ninth and Neenah streets areas
until water could be pumped out. Watertown High School was without electricity
for a period of time.
Watertown Metal Products had some minor flooding over the years but it
was nothing like this deluge. The plant,
located at 1141 S. Tenth St., had 13 inches of water throughout the building
and damages were estimated at $100,000, maybe more.
Schuett's Feed Service had a double
problem. The business was flooded with
about four feet of water and then complicating things, vandals broke in to the
place and turned on a molasses pump, causing several tons of the sticky goo to
be discharged and mixed with the floodwaters.
U.S. Chemical Company on Hart Street had up to 4-5 feet of water in some
areas, causing extensive damage. A number oil storage tanks at Union Oil at the
south end of Fifth Street were tipped over from the flooding, pushed around
like they were a little kid's toys.
This deluge also dramatically raised the level of the Rock River. In the
first nine days of July, the flow of water in the river just a 1,000 feet or so
south of the lower dam ranged from 218 to 274 cubic feet per second. Then, on
July 10 that number jumped to 643 cubic feet per second and by the 11th it rose
to 1,183 cubic feet per second. After that it gradually tapered off and was 854
on the 12th, 777 on the 13th, 666 on the 14th and 610 on the 15th. Imagine
having the flow of the Rock River going from 262 cubic feet a second to 1,183
cubic feet in just 48 hours! That gives a clear indication of the level of
flooding in the city back in the summer of 1982.
__________________________________________________________________________________
2008
Flood
June
5-13, 17 inches of rain
Click on images to enlarge
Fanny Lewis Park Area [ North Water St]
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Lower Dam / Milwaukee St bridge construction project
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Tivoli Island
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Riverside Park
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Spaulding St
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Pictures by Ken Riedl
Cross References:
Watertown
Daily Times articles:
2008
June 9 Weekend of constant
rainfall . . . flooded basements and damaged property
June 12 Flood safety tips
are offered
June 13 City gets 3 more
inches
June 13 Dodge County gets
up to 7 inches of rain
June 14 Train traffic
through Watertown halted
June 16 Officials keep eye
on river
June 17 Mayor estimates
about $4.5 million in damage
June 17 Crop losses likely
to exceed $40 million
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin