WHITING – The Wisconsin River will remain low for the next several weeks as the Consolidated Water Power Company continues to make repairs at the Whiting dam.
CWPCo started the temporary drawdown of about a 2.5-mile stretch of the river between the Whiting and Stevens Point dams in April while crews worked to repair the Whiting dam. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved drawing down the river two feet per day. Preliminary estimates in April suggested the river could drop up to 15 feet, although the actual level depended on the scope of repairs.
Martin Burkhardt, CWPCo’s power director, said the river flow remains steady as planned, and the lower water level has allowed crews to better assess the scope of repairs needed. As they assessed the needs at the site, crews installed a new stoplog and are fixing some additional issues identified at the site, according to a news release from CWPCo.
CWPCo expects to finish the repairs by late June. Once crews are finished, it will take about seven days to restore the water level to normal on the Wisconsin River, the release said.
Burkhardt said there is no danger to downstream residents, and water will continue to flow through the river channel during the drawdown. He urged the public to stay away from the Whiting dam area both upstream and downstream until repairs are complete, according to the release.
CWPCo is working with Portage County Emergency Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FERC throughout the process, providing updates about the drawdown and repairs.
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: How long will the Wisconsin River remain low between the Stevens Point and Whiting dams?
Reporting by Caitlin Shuda, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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