MANAWA (NBC 26) — A year and a half after devastating flooding caused the Manawa dam to fail, the community remains divided over whether to rebuild the dam or let the Little Wolf River flow naturally.
Although the Manawa City Council voted 6-0 last year to restore the pond, there is still no timeline for reconstruction. Now, some residents are considering legal action against the city.
Business owner advocates for natural river
Ben Hlaban, a Manawa business owner, has been documenting the transformation of the former millpond back to the naturally flowing Little Wolf River through drone footage.
"I think the answer is to leave it a free-flowing river and not have an impoundment here," Hlaban said.
Hlaban pointed to environmental changes since the dam failure, noting significant sediment deposits that had accumulated behind the structure.
"There's sediment banks that are six feet high of just sediment that was brought in and basically brought in here, and it was allowed to settle here because of the dam," he said.
Funding challenges delay reconstruction
The city of Manawa and the Township of Little Wolf have hired attorneys to work toward an intergovernmental agreement for shared costs to replace the dam after state and federal grant funding was denied earlier this year.
Despite the council's unanimous vote to restore the pond, the city has not provided a timeline for when reconstruction could begin.
Former mayor calls for action
Former Mayor John Smith expressed frustration with the lack of progress and called for more aggressive advocacy efforts.
"I think that when your city council has voted 6-0 to restore it, now your city government's job is to move forward," Smith said." I don't care how many hours and days that somebody has to spend in Madison. Somebody has to go to Madison, and somebody has to lobby for us," he pleaded.
Legal action under consideration
Smith revealed that some residents have grown impatient with the city's progress and are exploring legal options.
"Ever since the beginning, there has been discussion from the landowners upstream that they need to take legal action against the city. They need to get some pressure on the city," Smith said.
Another former mayor, Dave Sarna, says a group of riverfront property owners has retained a legal firm from Milwaukee to participate with the Manawa and the Township of Little Wolf local in researching avenues of procuring funding and permits to replace the dam.
Community creates reconstruction fund
While awaiting official action, Little Wolf and Manawa residents have created a "Dam Reconstruction Fund" to self-fund the restoration of their dam and pond.
The next Manawa Council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 6 p.m., where residents may seek updates on the reconstruction timeline.
The ongoing debate reflects the complex challenges facing communities when infrastructure fails and residents have differing visions for their area's future.
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