Million-dollar plan: Port Washington getting federal aid to find solutions for flooding, erosion
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Currently, it's quiet and shallow, but when Valley Creek swells, it can cause big problems for this lakeshore community of about 13,000 people.
This month, Port Washington learned it will get nearly $1 million to stabilize the creek, which is prone to flash flooding and has been experiencing harsh erosion, which threatens key infrastructure built along the creek.
The $915,000 federal grant accounts for about half of Wisconsin's share of the National Coastal Resilience Fund, which is funded by the nearly $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said the project will aim to protect infrastructure near the creek, as well as attractions that add to the quality of life here.
"We have sewer and water lines running nearby the creek," Vanden Noven said. "We also have the Ozaukee County Interurban Trail running alongside, so we want to protect those assets."
Before it reaches Lake Michigan, Valley Creek runs alongside key infrastructure, such as power lines, sewer lines and the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.
There's a greater urgency to stabilize the creek after recent flood events, particularly the August 2018 flood, which Vanden Noven described as a 500-year event. With such floods happening more often, the goal of this grant is to design a solution that will slow down stormwater runoff.
"We want to be ready for the next storm," Vanden Noven said. "We realize storms are occurring with greater frequency and greater intensity, so we want to be ready for the next one."
The 2018 flood caused water to swamp an underground parking garage for a condo building near where the creek flows into Lake Michigan. At the time, residents demanded the city find a way to control the creek.
An August 2018 flood caused stormwater to swamp the underground garage for a condo building near Valley Creek.
Vanden Noven said older flood control measures, like a concrete wall upstream and a box culvert near the condo building, have proven ineffective. This federal grant will cover 60% of the estimated design cost, which Vanden Noven said will focus on finding nature-based tools to reduce runoff speeds.
"Essentially, using woody material and deep-rooted plants that'll help stabilize the stream bank naturally," he said.
Right now, erosion and flooding go hand-in-hand in what amounts to a frustrating cycle: as the banks erode, trees along the edge of the creek fall. When more of the banks are eaten way, the trees plop into the water.
"Once a tree falls into the stream, you're gonna get more erosion around that tree," Vanden Noven said. "You're going to get flooding backing up behind that tree, and it makes the problem worse."
Vanden Noven said Port Washington will model its design after the Pheasant Branch Conservatory in Middleton, a suburb of Madison.
The design phase will take one to two years, and after that, Vanden Noven said the city will be on the hunt for additional grants. He estimated construction will cost about $10 million, which will include the removal of downed trees and concrete control measures currently in place.
From there, the city will place natural deterrents along the 1.8-mile stretch of creek between I-43 and Lake Michigan. Vanden Noven said the goal was to complete the project in five years.