The Dane County Government has announced plans for over $18 million in initiatives designed to recover from damage and to prevent future flooding events.
Commenting the latest news, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said: “ This summer’s historic rains brought flooding and destruction to many areas throughout Dane County.”
“Our charge moving forward is to come together as one community to ensure that we will recover, continue to partner to improve our lakes and waterways, and strengthen our infrastructure and emergency response to become even more resilient in the future.”
Highlighting the initiatives is a $2.5 million project dedicated to improving water flow in the Yahara River, which connects the four Madison-area lakes.
The money will be used to dredge sediment, remove weeds and debris and identify points in the river where flow could be restricted.
An important part of the county’s future prevention plans is adding areas of wetlands near flood-prone areas. The county will pay $750,000 to property owners to convert part of their land to wetlands.