Green Bay experienced severe flooding in several areas after heavy rains in August and September, including the intersection of Main and East Mason.
Now the city is deciding what can be done to alleviate that flooding.
“I know there are some issues that we just can’t deal with because it’s Mother Nature and it’s way too much and okay, that’s fine,” says alderman Andy Nicholson. “But I think there’s room for improvement.”
But Green Bay may have to wait to make those improvements later rather than sooner.
Nicholson says he’s actively tried to fix the problem for 17 years.
“It’s too expensive, the city doesn’t have any money,” he says. “And when we do have the money, we just throw it away.”
“There’s not necessarily a cost associated with each individual product until we get closer to implementing the project,” says Green Bay Public Works director Steve Grenier. “Because the construction costs change so rapidly.”
Right now Green Bay’s infrastructure can’t handle the amount of rain that comes with a heavy downpour as evidenced by storms this summer.
Public Works says they have an informal five year plan to fix flooding issues.
“One of the things we are looking at there are a couple of basins throughout the city that would benefit from some storm lift stations,” says Grenier. “So that’s a tool that we’re going to be bringing forward, is the installation and construction of some storm sewer lift stations.”
But that isn’t an end all be all fix.
“A lot of times with these high intensity storm events one of the things that happens is the power gets knocked out,” says Grenier, “And if the power gets knocked out, the storm station isn’t going to work either.”
And the city council has it’s own ideas of what needs to be done.
“I believe that we need more drainage, larger pipes to alleviate the problem and also retention ponds,” says Nicholson.
The Improvement and Services committee will next meet on October 31.
Local 5 will continue to follow this story and tell you what steps they plan to take next.
