The string of storms that left some areas of Wisconsin under at least five feet of water thankfully showed more mercy to communities such as Stoughton.
In fact, despite getting nearly 8 inches of rainfall dumped on it over 24 hours, Stoughton fared pretty well.
“There was some temporary street flooding and everything was at full capacity,” said Karl Manthe, Stoughton’s street superintendent. “We had 7.4 inches of rain over a two-day period, and I’d say the system handled it quite well.”
In all, only one house needed to be sandbagged, and a handful of neighborhoods had water up over their curbs temporarily until the rain stopped and water disappated.
There was, of course concern with the area by Paradise Pond, where construction of a larger, permanent, pump has only just begun.
In late June the city council approved a $367,886 bid to install a permanent pumping system for the pond, a former quarry.
Rainfall has regularly raised the ponds water level as well as concerns of those living along it, as the pond has no natural outlet.
Thankfully, last fall the city pumped out the pond in anticipation of higher water levels this spring and began preparing for the installation of a permanent system. Ironically, despite all the rain, none of the residents along the pond reported problems with the rainfall.
Flooding did occur on West South Street, Lincoln Street (800 block), West Street, Dunkirk Avenue, portions of Main and Van Buren streets, Main Street by the railroad tracks (by the Depot) and at Page and Main.
According to Scott Wegner, deputy fire chief, volunteer firefighers assisted the streets department in filling hundreds of sandbags during the storm. Wegner said they were called to a residence on West South Street that was later determined to need some of the sandbags to curtail water.
He said the department began to respond to a call for mutual aid in Oregon, but the call was cancelled before they got too far.
“Any time it rains or storms we never know what we’re going to get called to,” Wegner said. Firefighters could be called to assist with flooding issues, potential lightening strikes, downed trees and more.
Depsite rumors of tonadic activity – and a report of one touchdon on the outskirts of Stoughton – the only calls Stoughton Fire Department received were from curious media outlets.
“Things started up around 8:24 p.m. on Thursday and we were basically done by 10 p.m.,” Wegner said. “It was pretty uneventful, considering.”
