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Commission hears progress on East River flood-warning effort; municipalities and county weigh cost-sharing for additional gauges
Summary
The commission’s climate-resilience group reported that municipalities across the East River watershed, with Brown County emergency management, have verbally committed to cost-sharing for an additional river gauge as part of a larger flood-warning system; long-term monitoring funding remains a challenge.
Julia Nordyke updated the commission on a multi-jurisdiction effort to develop a flood-warning system for the East River watershed that would rely on additional river gauges, modeling and shared data.
Nordyke said the East River is a large regional watershed with recurring flooding, and that the project has involved the National Weather Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and Sea Grant. The immediate technical need is an additional gauge near the Bellevue area to better capture flows from Bauer Creek; existing gauges include one in Green Bay and another upstream in the town of Rockland.
The update stressed that grants commonly fund equipment and installation but not long-term operations. Several municipalities — including Green Bay, Bellevue, De Pere, Ledgeview and the town of Rockland — have verbally committed to cost-sharing, and Brown County emergency manager Dan Kane is participating in the effort. The group plans to work on memoranda of agreement and financial contracts next year to formalize commitments.
Julia asked the commission to consider expanding the climate-resilience work group and suggested recruiting members with public‑health expertise to address heat and smoke-related impacts in addition to flooding. Commissioners responded positively and noted that current school and building projects may limit near-term participation from some partners.
Next steps: partners will pursue formal agreements and seek funding for gauges and operations; the climate-resilience group will continue outreach and coordination across municipalities and county emergency management.
