WAUPUN — The Rock River upstream from the Mill Pond is rapidly draining due to damage to the dam’s bypass pipe valve.
Water coming through the Rock River has already been low due to the current dry conditions, a stark contrast with the flood conditions at the beginning of the summer.
Now with the damage discovered to the dam, the City is taking steps to repair it during the current dry season.
Director of Public Works Jeff Daane spoke about the issue at Tuesday’s City Council meeting during his department report.
According to Daane, a dam inspector was brought in on Monday to check the dam for damage following all the flooding the region had earlier this year. The dam hadn’t been inspected for several years, and the inspector noted some issues during their inspection.
“We were looking around and they [the inspector] were wondering where the bypass pipe was coming up,” Daane said. “I said, ‘it’s right over there,’ and he said, ‘oh yeah, where that water is bubbling up.’ I said, ‘oh I haven’t seen that before,’ and he said, ‘well if you want more water to go over the dam you should try to make sure that’s shut all the way.’”
“We had crews out there today [Tuesday] to open and shut it again and we found out why it wasn’t shutting, because there was something wrong with the bypass valve,” Daane continued. “Now as we speak the Mill Pond is getting lower and as of now there is no water going over the dam.”
As of Thursday night, the water of the Mill Pond is about one foot lower than the lip of the dam. Water has drained from much of the river upstream from the dam, including from around the Meadow View Boardwalk which is now visible marshland.
Water is still flowing through the bypass pipe, allowing water to go around the dam. However, the water in the spillway and downstream along the river is visibly lower than usual, which is due to current dry conditions in the region.
“I’ve been in contact with the DNR and with engineers,” Daane said. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen first, whether we’re going to be able to get it set up and fixed or if the Mill Pond will be drained down before something happens.”
Mayor Bishop pointed out that the City of Waupun owns the dam and the pond, the current iteration of which was put there in 1972 by the canning company that owned the facility where Harris Mill Park is now.
A similar incident also occurred in the late 1980s or early 1990s, where the Mill Pond had been accidentally drained. According to Mayor Bishop’s recollection, there was a fishing tournament and they wanted to increase the amount of water going over the dam. However, this resulted in the Mill Pond completely draining, causing the DNR to arrest the DPW director at the time who authorized the plan. He ended up being released after explaining that the City owned the dam and had the right to do so.
Following some questions in the community, the City of Waupun made a Facebook post Thursday morning to discuss concerns about the state of the Mill Pond. The post described the process in discovering the issue, and went on to outline their next steps.
“The WI-DNR was contacted and has instructed us that the best and safest way to determine needed repairs is to let the water level continue to drop,” the post said. “Once water levels reach a level that allows crews to assess the problem, a plan will be developed for repair,” the post said.
The post also mentioned how the water levels might impact the fish population or local fishing on the river and Mill Pond, but they admitted they were unable to answer that question at this time.
“We will continue working with WI-DNR on a plan and will provide an update when more information is available,” the post concluded.
