MANAWA (NBC 26) — Manawa city leaders and residents attended a meeting Wednesday where an engineering firm projected the cost of building a new dam in Manawa at over $8 million.
Get an inside look at the meeting in the video below:
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Neighbors learned what the city of Manawa's options are for the mill pond dam after it failed during a severe rain storm last summer.
I'm Pari Apostolakos at Manawa City Hall where Cedar Corporaton told the Manawa city council Wednesday that repairing the mill pond dam is not an option. While demolishing the current dam and building a new one could cost more than $8 million.
Consulting and engineering firm Cedar Corporation gave a presentation to neighbors and officials Wednesday night saying the dam, which was likely built before the late 1800s and repaired as recently as 2012, should not be repaired again after being damaged by a severe rainstorm July 5 last year.
"It's going to take a mixed bag and a lot of different funding sources to get this done," Community Infrastructure Consultant Brandon Strelow said to the crowd.
The options presented Wednesday night were first, to remove the dam and let the mill pond return to the river's original channel. That would cost about $700,000, which some neighbors are in favor of.
"I think it's better in the long run for the environment and the area if it's a river [without the mill pond created by the dam]," Nick Heise said after attending the meeting.
"It just kind of makes sense from an economic decision to just let it stay a river, it's a healthier option," Manwa business owner Ben Hlaban said.
To rebuild the dam without hydroelectric power, Cedar Corp. says it would cost about $8.4 million dollars and take between two to three years to complete.
The power house which was once connected to the dam is 100 years old and privately owned. But, if the city were to agree with the power house owner to rebuild the dam with hydroelectric power, it would cost more than $8.4 million.
The city council's goal as of right now is to bring back the dam.
"We lose a lot without the mill pond. We have a very active ice fishing presence in the winter time," City of Manawa third ward Alderman Jim Roenz said. "It brings people in to this community."
The decision to demolish the old dam and build a new one is an option many of the homeowners around the mill pond agree with.
"There's nothing wrong with what we had, and if we can resume that, that's the way that I think the bulk of the city of Manawa and township of little wolf would like to go," Debbie Sarna, who lives along the Little Wolf River, said.
As far as funding options for the project, Cedar Corp. says Manawa could ask the nearby town of Little Wolf, which also sits along the river, to contribute.
There's also the possibility of a tax levy, or a referendum to increase spending limits since most of the city's money was tied up in other projects before the July 2024 flooding.
The dam could maybe be added to an existing nearby tax incremental financing district to get some cash flow. There's also the option of making state and federal budget requests or grant funding.
One of the city's next steps is to sit down with leaders from the town of Little Wolf and talk about the options for the dam.
