Vernon County Board will decide fate of Driftless region dams June 30

After years of planning and research from conservationists and engineers, the Vernon County Board of Supervisors will vote at the end of June on whether or not to decommission all but one dam in two watersheds.

When five dams across the West Fork Kickapoo and Coon Creek watersheds failed in a 2018 storm, environmental engineers scrambled to figure out how it happened. It was later revealed that undetectable internal erosion led to the dams collapsing.

The rest of the dams in both watersheds are also earthen dams, meaning the same potential issues exist across the region’s floodplains.

Conservation staff from the county to the state agreed the best option for the dams is decommissioning. Ben Wojahn, Vernon County conservationist, said by decommissioning instead of repairing or demolishing, the county will foot the lowest bill and act in the quickest manner...

...Decommissioning the dams is the only option that federal organizations will fund. The project will cost an estimated $18.6 million overall, and Vernon County would only be on the hook for about $497,000 across all dams. Any other repairs or demolitions would fall entirely on the county....

...County board members will vote on the dam decision June 30. Members of the public will be able to comment at this meeting...