Flood Safety Update & Trash Collection Update (8-24-2018)

The City's site at https://www.cityofmadison.com/flooding continues to be the best place for the most up to date information. The City IT Team is updating the site regularly with new features.

Here's some important updates from today.

The Mayor held a press conference at 1pm. Here's the information that was shared:

Current Lake Conditions

Trace amounts of rain fell this morning, less than expected. Lake Mendota levels are down one inch; meanwhile, Lake Monona has risen two inches. More rain is anticipated tonight. City officials will monitor the weather conditions and their impact on the isthmus. Continue to follow cityofmadison.com/flooding for the latest information.

Important Safety Reminders

If you live in the area at risk of flooding, be cautious with regards to electricity. If your home's source of power is compromised by water, you will experience a loss of power. Contact your utility service if your building's power has been compromised.

Remember, do not handle items charged with live electricity near water.

In anticipation of flooding and possible loss of power:

• Move all valuable items out of the basement and lower levels of your house.
• Charge your cell phones while you can, and charge your back-up chargers, too.
• Keep your refrigerator closed so your food doesn't spoil. Do not add to your stock of perishable foods for the next 4-5 days.

Sandbagging Efforts 

About a dozen work-release inmates provided by the Dane County Sheriff's Office are filling sandbags. The National Guard has been contacted for additional support. 40,000 sandbags have been filled so far, and more will continue to be filled. Click for sandbag locations.

Traffic Impacts

Traffic flow is compromised in certain areas of the city, particularly where flooding affected the west side as well as on the isthmus. Plan for extra travel time, be patient during your commute, and choose alternate routes, such as Stoughton Road, Monona Drive, and other unaffected thoroughfares.

People are strongly encouraged to minimize the use of their personal vehicles to keep traffic congestion down. Madison Metro will provide free rides throughout the weekend. People who have the ability to work remotely or telecommute are encouraged to do so through Wednesday, 8/29.

Parking

Parking restrictions remain in place on Willy Street. Other parking restrictions have been suspended to accommodate vehicles that need to be moved from the flood risk areas. Public parking garages are available free of charge from 9:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m. Parking in flood-prone areas puts your vehicle's viability at risk. View the flood risk map and find parking in areas not highlighted in blue.

Find more information about free parking in Madison.

Door Signs Distributed In Flood-Prone Areas

City staff have distributed approximately 1700 notices to households located in the flood risk areas. If you live near the flood risk areas identified on the map and did not receive a notice on your door, it does not mean your property will not flood! The original 1700 addresses were identified as areas of likeliest impact; however, we cannot predict which areas will be impacted if additional rainfall produces more floods.

Weekend Events

Weekend events such as the Dane County Farmer's Market and the Orton Park Festival are currently slated to go on as scheduled. If you are planning to attend any events on the isthmus, plan your alternate routes ahead of time, and always puts your safety first!

Collection of Flood Damaged Items – UPDATE 8/24

Due to the widespread damage caused by the historic flooding in Madison, the Streets Division has changed the initial plan for how flood damaged items will be collected.

Please note that the below plan is subject to change based on weather and flooding conditions. If Streets Division crews are needed elsewhere in response to the flooding event, the collection plan for flood-damaged materials will be updated again.

All residents of Madison will receive large item collection on their regularly scheduled refuse pickup day during the week of August 27.  This includes flood-damaged items like carpet and furniture.

If you have experienced flood damage and have items for disposal, place that material to the curb as soon as possible.

On Monday, August 27, crews will collect flood damaged large items and refuse from all residents with a scheduled Monday refuse pickup day. 

On Tuesday, August 28, crews will collect flood damaged large items and refuse from all residents with a scheduled Tuesday refuse pickup day.

On Wednesday, August 29, crews will collect flood damaged large items and refuse from all residents with a scheduled Wednesday refuse pickup day.

On Thursday, August 30, crews will collect flood damaged large items and refuse from all residents with a scheduled Thursday refuse pickup day.

On Friday, August 31, crews will collect flood damaged large items and refuse from all residents with a scheduled Friday refuse pickup day.

Residents should use their refuse collection cart for flood damaged refuse than can fit inside of it. Also, residents should bag small refuse items that cannot fit into the collection cart. Do not pile small loose items at the curb.

Residents no longer need to report flood damage to the curb via the Report-a-Problem system. They should place flood-damaged material to the curb for pickup during the week of August 27 as outlined above.

Streets Division staff will assess conditions at the end of next week to determine if another round of citywide large item collection will be scheduled for the week of September 3.

Recycling Collection for the Week of August 27

Recycling collection for residents who have recycling pickup scheduled for the week of August 27 will have their green recycling cart emptied.

Residents with scheduled recycling collection will also have their tan refuse cart emptied, and will also have large items set to the curb collected as part of the response to collecting flood damaged material.

Flood Damaged Paper & Cardboard Is Not Recyclable

Paper and cardboard that have been saturated with water cannot be recycled. Do not place this material into your recycling cart. This material should be placed into your refuse container, or bagged as excess refuse.

Drop-off Site Restrictions

Residents disposing of flood-damaged items are not restricted to one-trip a day to the drop-off sites. The sites are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd and 4602 Sycamore Ave. The sites are only available to City of Madison residents. Proof of residency is required to use the site.

Other drop-off site restrictions, such as the size of a load and a prohibition of contractors from using the sites, are still in effect.

For more information about the drop-off sites, visit the Streets Division website.

Additional Information

For additional information regarding the Streets Division can be found at the Streets Division website, www.cityofmadison.com/streets.

Additional information regarding flooding conditions can be found on the City of Madison Flooding website www.cityofmadison.com/flooding.

If there is anything I can do to help, feel free to reach out: district19@cityofmadison.com

-Keith F