Report: Despite dam failures, Wisconsin dams in good shape

Wisconsin has seen 18 dam breaches since 2018, including one earlier this year where a dam in Manawa was breached and a state of emergency was declared by Gov. Tony Evers.

From 2000 to 2023, there were 34 dam failures from the state’s 4,000 dams over 72 counties, ranking Wisconsin second highest in the nation in dam breaches behind South Carolina, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

The Manawa failure led to the evacuation of 100 residents.

The dams are often inspected and rated, with just over 200 of the 1,000 dams listed in the national inventory being declared “high hazard.” Only three of the dam failures since 2000 have been at “high hazard” dams with 18 at low-hazard dams, the report says.

“Our analysis suggests that recent funding levels have been sufficient to improve the condition of the state’s most critical dams since 2019,” the report says. “However, the state has also experienced more dam failures in recent years, and a changing climate – triggering more frequent and more severe extreme rain events — could pose new and greater tests to our dam infrastructure.”

Some dams are being removed, such as Milwaukee County’s Estabrook Dam and up to 23 dams being discussed for removal in Vernon County.

Of the 1,000 dams in the national inventory, 40% are owned by local governments, 29% are privately owned, 13% are state-owned, 9% are owned by a public utility and 7% are federally owned, the report says.

Since 2009, each two-year state budget has included $4 million in dam safety grants with a one-time $10 million in the 2021 budget.

Evers proposed to keep the funding at $10 million for 2023-25 but that number was reduced to $4 million by the Joint Finance Committee.