Warning system for dam in Pierce County narrows floodplain zoning

• Nuggett Lake

Nuggett Lake

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PLUM CITY—People living downstream from the Plum Creek Watershed can have more peace of mind and the floodplain there will be narrowed because of a warning system being installed for Nugget Lake Dam near Plum City.

The upgrade was one of three recommended improvements after a flood study conducted earlier for the county by Ayres Associates, Eau Claire engineering firm, according to Pierce County Zoning Administrator Jim Kleinhans. Two other recommendations—re-setting a flow pipe and re-grading the dam’s spillway—were done by 1997.

Although there’s no indication flood waters have ever gone through the spillway, heavy rains this summer were cause for concern, Kleinhans said Thursday.

“If the high water in August had come closer, it could have happened,” he said about a potential threat to the dam from a rainstorm on the eastern side of the county.

At the time of the study, the engineering firm proposed several different options for the warning system, but pushed for the electrical one, the administrator said. However, that proved cost-prohibitive; county officials are now proceeding with a combination of solar panels and radios instead.

Read more in the print version of the Herald Dec. 16.

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