Recap: Wisconsin dam fails as floods in Waupaca County's Manawa force evacuations

MANAWA – The city of Manawa, in central Waupaca County, has some cleaning up to do.

Up to 100 homes, including a nursing home, were evacuated Friday after erosion caused the bank at the edge of the Manawa Mill Pond dam to fail, sending flood waters down into Little Wolf River.

Fortunately, no injuries related to the flooding were reported, local officials said at a 4 p.m. news conference at City Hall.

Here's how the situation unfolded.

Manawa receives up to 4 inches of rain

Mid-morning, Manawa started getting a lot of heavy rain that amounted to about 4 inches, Manawa Police Chief Jason Severson said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

“It looks like the dam is intact, but there is quite a bit of erosion on the north side,” Severson said, adding later that multiple gates on the dam were opened to help alleviate pressure and prevent “catastrophic failure.”

“We started experiencing high flooding in many rural areas,” said Josh Smith, the city’s director of Public Works.

Manawa homes, roadways flooded

City Hall started getting a high volume of calls about flooding into people’s homes and on roadways, as well as roadways being washed away, Smith said. Manawa implemented MABAS, a mutual aid measure, to get help from other agencies.

“(Getting information out) was a little slow at first just because of being a small town and needing resources,” Severson said. “We didn’t things out as quick as we could’ve. So, I apologize for that.”

First responders helped evacuate motorists first, Severson said. But, as the erosion got worse, he said, homes had to start being evacuated.

Emergency shelters open at Manawa Masonic Center and Little Wolf High School

Emergency shelters have been opened at the Manawa Masonic Center, 520 N. Bridge St., for evacuees on the north side and Little Wolf High School, 515 E. 4th St., for evacuees on the south. Manawa Community Living Center was evacuated to the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King.

While this is still an active situation, Severson said he thinks “the worst of it is over.”

“Now, we’re just going to have to start assessing things and seeing where we go from there,” Severson said.

“I want to thank the good Lord that no one was injured or killed in this,” Manawa Mayor Mike Frazier said. “The rest of that, we can fix and repair.”

National Weather Service put up flash flood warning

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for central Waupaca County from about 10:24 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., though that was later extended until 9:30 p.m. Friday, and residents are urged to move to higher ground. In its initial reports, it said major flooding was expected downstream from the Manawa dam and the Little Wolf River.

(1237 PM) A flash flood warning has been issued for central Waupaca County until 930 PM. A dam break on the Little Wolf...

Posted by US National Weather Service Green Bay Wisconsin on Friday, July 5, 2024

Since around 8:30 a.m. Friday, the northwest side of Manawa received 5.6 inches of rain, Kurt Kotenderg, a meteorologist for NWS of Green Bay, told The Post-Crescent around midday Friday. Reports were coming in of vehicles stuck in flood waters, and the city advised drivers to avoid driving and getting stuck.

The streets which were reported to be flooded include Union Street, North Bridge Street, Beech Street, Howard Street and Industrial Drive.

A boil water advisory was issued for Manawa and its surrounding areas

The Wastewater Treatment Plant did sustain some flooding, Smith said at the press conference.

The advisory means people in those areas should boil tap water before using it for drinking, food preparation and ice, according to a Facebook post from the city of Manawa.

“This advisory has been issued because of severe flooding in the area,” the post said. “We are recommending this course of action as a precautionary measure until some water testing can be done to ensure it is safe to consume.”

Tap water should be boiled at a full rolling boil for at least five minutes prior to use, the post said.

The post recommended that people use bottled water if available, including for brushing teeth and warned that boiled water should not be used for infants or expectant mothers.

Officials told those in the area to refrain from wading or driving through any kind of potential flooding.

“It’s unknown what could be missing underneath, what may have washed away,” Smith said. “And, who know what kind of contaminants may be in the water."

Manawa Wisconsin - Public Health officials have declared a “Boil Water Advisory” for Manawa and surrounding areas. A...

Posted by City of Manawa on Friday, July 5, 2024

Witness saw vehicles stalled in rushing floodwater in Manawa

Around 10:20 a.m., Ian Corkhill was driving his Silverado onto State 22 south in Manawa when he saw a lot of flooding in ditches and fields with standing water.

When he reached the north side of the city, he said, there was “major flooding” and a Chevorlet Trailblazer stuck.

“The water was running,” Corkhill said. “It wasn’t just like a stationary flood. You could tell that it was rushing water.”

Many vehicles pulled off into a nearby church parking lot, he said, and traffic was backing up.

“I was just hoping that people in smaller cars would not try and go through there,” he said. “I couldn’t tell obviously how deep the water was. But, I could tell it was up to the doors on some of those cars, so that’s probably, I would say, 3-feet deep.”

When emergency vehicles began to arrive, Corkhill made his way out of the area. But not before seeing two more vehicles get stuck in the waters.

“I was trying to flash my lights, kind of tell them not to go,” he said.

As he began his trek back to Clintonville — where the Janesville resident is helping take care of his late grandfather’s estate — he encountered other roads with water flowing over them, “like a small stream.”

“I could feel like the rain moving my truck,” he said. “It was pretty nerve-wracking.”

What Corkhill described as “torrential” rain was coming down in the area for about two or three hours in the late morning into the afternoon.

“I really never had rain where it just kept up that high rate, where it was just pouring constantly,” he said.

Flooding canceled remainder of Manawa rodeo

The flooding has caused the cancellation of the second day of Mid-Western Rodeo, which started yesterday and was slated to wrap up Sunday.

The rodeo's Facebook page announced that all performances for the weekend would be canceled due to the flooding.

More: Flash flood warning issued for Outagamie County, including Appleton, Fox Cities

Rashad Alexander can be contacted at ralexander@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Recap: Wisconsin dam fails as floods in Waupaca County's Manawa force evacuations