November 2019

• Municipal Dam Grant Application Period Is Open!
• Groundwater Levels and Aquifer Response
• Do Dams Provide Flood Control?
• DNR Dam Safety Staff Update
• Dam Safety Database
• Emergency: Who do you call?

Municipal Dam Grant Application Period Is Open!

The deadline to submit completed grant applications is by close of business on February 28, 2020. 

 Read More...

Groundwater Levels and Aquifer Response

In recent months, many Wisconsinites have been faced with groundwater flooding. To assist with questions regarding this issue, the DNR assembled an educational website on groundwater levels and aquifer response: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WaterUse/gwLevels.html.  This website describes groundwater flooding and provides context to the phenomenon relative to historic record.  The site also includes links to other DNR pages related to flooding, such as “Coping with flooding” and “Flood insurance”.

Do Dams Provide Flood Control?

With the flooding season behind us - at least in some parts of the state - high water sparked a common question, “Do dams provide flood protection?” The answer is that all dams can provide some level of protection against flooding; however, it is frequently very little, and the degree of protection is limited depending on the design and operation.

In general, each dam is unique and is designed to serve one or more purposes.  Dams are constructed for many reasons, such as....Read More

Flood control storage area can be seen on right side of photo, just beneath the intake structure.

DNR Dam Safety Staff Update

Meg Galloway is Retiring!

Meg Galloway, Chief of the Dam and Floodplain Section will retire from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) after 29 years of service.  Meg will be launching into a new career as a Senior Policy Advisor with the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) based in Madison, Wisconsin.  In this role, she will provide guidance on making effective national flood policy and legislation at the state and local level.  Read more...

New Dam and Floodplain Section Chief

Please welcome Rob Davis in the position of Dam and Floodplain Section Chief.  Rob will start in the role, beginning November 11, 2019.  The section chief administers the statewide dam safety and floodplain and floodplain mapping subprograms, supervises engineers and technical staff, approves floodplain technical analyses, and provides dam safety expertise during emergencies.  Read more...

New Grant Program Manager

After 43 years of service with the DNR, Kari Beetham has retired.  Kari Beetham has been our Grant Program Manager for the Municipal Dam Grant and Dam Removal Grant since 2013.  A big thank you to Kari for all her assistance the last six years!

Wendy Peich has already started as our new Grant Program Manager.  Wendy began her career with the DNR in 2011, and for the last seven years she has been a Water Management Specialist in the Waterways Bureau.  Wendy can be reached at (608) 264-9207 or Wendy.Peich@wisconsin.gov.  Welcome, Wendy!

DNR Dam Safety Engineers

Joe Behlen, DNR Dam Safety Engineer in the West Central Region recently retired and Jennifer Jefferson, DNR Dam Safety Engineer in the Northern Region recently started a Natural Resources Engineer position in the DNR Facilities and Lands, Engineering and Construction Management Section.  Congratulations to Joe and Jen in their new endeavors!

Please check the dam safety county contacts page to see the DNR Dam Safety Engineers’ revised coverage areas.

Please Note:  Many of our engineers are converting to one contact phone number.  Please check the DNR contacts page (link provided above, in this section) to update the contact phone number that you have for your local DNR Dam Safety Engineer.

Dam Safety Database

The DNR Dam Safety Database is a great resource for dam owners, operators and others in the dam safety profession. The information in the database can be used when developing an emergency action plan or an inspection, operation and maintenance plan. The database can also assist dam owners in determining inspection schedules.   The Dam Safety Database can be accessed from the Dam Safety website. Two searches have been developed to help determine the inspection schedules for state regulated, large dams and to provide selected database information for dams in the dam inventory.

Click to find your DNR Dam Safety Engineer

Find a Directory of Consultants and Contractors

This is a resource dam owners can use for dam inspections, maintenance and repairs, and hydraulic and hydrologic analyses.

Emergency: Who do you call?

If, despite your best efforts at maintaining your dam, an emergency arises, the first thing to do is to open your emergency action plan (EAP) and follow the steps outlined. If for some reason, you do not yet have an EAP for your dam and failure is imminent, then call 9-1-1 and prepare to provide the following information to the 9-1-1 operator:  

• Name and title of person reporting incident
• Call back number of person reporting incident
• Name/Location of the dam, including county, waterbody, and nearest road
• Present condition of the dam such as perceived problem, gate status, or level of pond in relation to the low point in the embankment

County Emergency Managers

"Dam Safety News" is published by the WDNR, Bureau of Watershed Management. Its purpose is to inform dam owners, operators and others concerned about dam safety issues.  Comments or contributions are welcome. 

This newsletter is supported by funding through FEMA National Dam Safety Grant No. EMC-2018-GR-00005 as part of the National Dam Safety Program. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Federal government.