The water level at the Manawa Dam on July 12, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
MANAWA, WI (WTAQ) — The City of Manawa is pursuing a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to stabilize the shoreline by the dam.
This after the dam breached from the severe storms and flooding in July.
The area of concern is the shoreline by Sturm Memorial Library and Kobussen.
The concern of the Wisconsin DNR Fish and Wildlife Department is that more silt may wash into the river and possibly harm any of the 11 endangered species identified near the dam.
“There will be riprap and some other things put into the river to not allow it to wash down because the DNR is very concerned about the spring runoff,” said Manawa Mayor Mike Frazier.
If the USDA grant is approved, the work could begin this fall or early winter. It is anticipated to take two months to complete.
Cost of the project is between $650-700 thousand. The grant would cover 75 percent of the costs, and the city would take out a loan to cover the rest.
City officials have met with FERC, Wisconsin DNR, and the City’s engineer Cedar Corporation several times and anticipate more meetings in the future.
If the grant is not approved, Frazier says the city will look for other ways to fund the project.
“We’ve already had several meetings with all the parties involved, and everybody has agreed that there is a lot of moving parts and a lot of steps to take,” said Frazier. “Everybody just has to be patient until all final decisions are made.”
Flood cleanup at Lindsay Park has been completed. There are still some building, field, and court repairs that will need to be done.
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