High volumes of rainfall throughout the Fox-Wolf Basin have increased flows moving from Lake Winnebago through dams on the Lower Fox River. Record rainfalls have forced the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency in charge of managing water level management, to increase the amount of water flowing between Lake Winnebago and Green Bay. Flows have been increased to avoid property damage and reduce flooding on the Winnebago System.

Federal regulators have raised water-hazard conditions to perilous and are recommending people remove their boats from the Lower Fox River and avoid traveling on it.

Update from the Army Corps:

Monday, September 23, 2019

**ATTENTION** The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fox River Office is providing a notice for the upcoming increase to flow in the Lower Fox River to Perilous conditions.

Due to the continued record rainfall we are being forced to increase the outflow from Lake Winnebago. The potential for localized flooding on the Fox/Wolf rivers continues. There continues to be the possibility of flooding along the shorelines of Lake Winnebago and the pool lakes, in the event of storms or high winds the risk of shoreline damage will increase.

We are anticipating increasing the outflow to +/-14,000cfs tomorrow, and potentially +/-15,000cfs before the end of the week.

I expect the high levels and extremely high flows to continue through the next several weeks. October 1st begins our annual draw down of Lake Winnebago, this will also impact the duration of high flows.

I urge recreational boaters to use extreme caution when navigating near the dams. Those with boats, docked or on lifts, along the Lower Fox River, including Little Lake Butte des Morts, should monitor conditions closely. If you haven’t done so, it might be time to consider making arrangements for removal of your boats from the river.

Respectfully,

Chadwick D. Shaw
Chief, Fox River Operations
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
2619 E. Capitol Dr.
Appleton, WI 54911
Office: 920.380.7106
Cell: 920.237.9819

http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/…/Great-Lakes…/Lake-Winnebago/

This post was created by Austin Pethan, the Winnebago Waterway’s Progam Assistant. He can be reached at (920) 851 – 4295 or austin@fwwa.org.

Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.

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