Officials in Mukwonago no longer believe the Mukwonago dam is close to breaking, said Mukwonago Emergency Government Coordinator Jeff Rolfe.
Yesterday The Mukwonago dam on Phantom Lake
in Mukwonago Wisconsin was in danger of breaking. If the Mukwonago dam breaks it could flood State Highway 83, and possibly I-43. There is worry that the flood cleanup will be huge. No homes will be in danger if the dam breaks as all waters from the dam will flow to marshland and so damage repair will be a minimum. The Phantom Lake Dam got blocked by bog vegetation causing water to pour around it. This flood water damage saturated the ground and eroded the dam’s side walls. It is the ground around the north side of the dam that has become saturated, and has in turn caused concerns about the dam’s structural soundness.Today there was positive news at a press conference: “We’ve been monitoring the dam since yesterday. The dam has not revealed any significant changes in the condition of the dam or the surrounding soil. The water level dropped 1.5 feet since yesterday morning.”
Weather forecasts are adding to the worries but officials say that that won’t mean immediate effects to the Mukwonago dam. Any rain that falls will take a day or 2 to get to the dam.
Authorities are asking that If people spot debris on Phantom lake, they should immediately contact Mukwonago Police at 262-363-6436. They also ask also boaters who are on Lower Phantom Lake to have no wake. People in the downstream towns of Big Bend, Vernon, Tichigan, and Waterford are warned to watch out for possible flood water damage.
If people spot debris on the lake, they should immediately contact Mukwonago Police at 262-363-6436.
The Mukwonago dam on Lower Phantom Lake is one hundred years old and had been rebuilt in 1988 after structural damages were spotted. After that the only inspection was a visual inspection in August 2007.
