Common Council

Historical High Lake Levels

From the City Engineer:

As you are aware, the storm we experience on June 15th and June 16th was an extreme event which resulted in many areas of the city flooding. We received an additional 1-1.5 inches of rain overnight and this morning and we expect more rain today, Friday and Saturday of this week.  

The flooding we have experienced recently has largely been urban flash flooding as a result of high intensity short duration thunderstorms.  In addition to the short term problems caused by these events they also contribute to lake level rise.  As we monitor the lake levels we want to keep you informed as we expect to receive more rain in the upcoming days and lake levels typically don't peak until a few days after the rains.

Currently the lake levels, as of Tuesday morning, are at 847.08 on Lake Monona and 851.03 on Lake Mendota. The 100-year levels for each are 847.70 and 852.80, respectively (see the chart below for reference). This means there is approximately 0.62ft on Lake Monona before we reach the 100-year flood elevation and 1.77ft on Lake Mendota before we reach the 100-year flood elevation.  More information and updates on the lake levels may be found on the Dane County website

There are many areas in the City that drain to Lake Monona and Starkweather Creek which have ground elevations at elevation 850+/- as Lake Monona rises, the underground storm sewer system is not going to be efficient as it is currently inundated with the water from the lake.  As the water rises this will impact the ability of the storm sewer to drain the waters away and if the water rises too much we may expect to see flooding and standing water in areas. 

Residents that are in low lying areas or areas prone to flooding may want to be prepared to protect their property from water damage with sandbags.  The City provides for free sand and sandbags withlocations throughout the city. Free sand and ready-to-fill sandbags are available to City of Madison residents at the following locations:

Engineering Service Building - 1600 Emil Street
Esther Beach Parking Lot - 2802 Waunona Way
Olin Park Parking Lot - 1155 Olin-Turville Court
Olbrich Park Boat Launch Parking Lot - 3527 Atwood Avenue
Spring Harbor School Parking Lot - 1918 Norman Way
Tenney Park Beach Parking Lot - 1254 Sherman Avenue
Warner Park Beach Parking Lot - 1101 Woodward Drive

Residents are advised to bring their own shovel to assist with loading sand into the bags.

We continue to monitor this situation carefully within Engineering and with Dane County and will keep you alerted as the information becomes available.