High water table in Plainfield raising havoc to over 25 homes

The extremely heavy rains and snowfalls in Waushara County have caught up with over 25 Plainfield residents that have suffered major water damage to their basements.  This flooding began in May of 2019 and continues to this day.  It doesn’t make a difference if you have a poured basement or a block basement, the force of water comes through the walls and floors.

Not only do the residents have to get rid of the water, but also they lose possessions and have to get a basement dry businesses in to assist with the problem costing homeowners over $15,000.  None of the expenses or losses are covered by insurance.

On Aug. 13th, the Argus met at the home of Sandra Poetzel on 650 E. East Road along with neighbors including Marsha Chikowski, Fred and Helen Appleyard, and Don and Karen Wied.  Also attending was the Plainfield Village President, Ed Makaryk.

Directly across the road from the Poetzel and Appleyard homes is a retention pond built in 2007 by the Department of Transportation on land they purchased.  It should be noted there is a retention pond on the other side of Plainfield also.  The retention pond was designed to gather and store storm water from Highway 73, but to these residents, it has failed.  There is a park adjacent to the retention pond and that is closed to the public because it is under water.

Marsha Chikowski, 836 Ruffalo Drive, said that it cost her about $25,000 to dry out the water in her finished basement, and she purchased a $5,000 generator in case the power goes out to keep her basement dry.  She said in addition her electric bill has been running over $300 per month.

The Appleyards said that ABT Solutions that assisted in their flooding has weekly meetings about high ground water areas and Plainfield is the only area where the water is continuing to rise and cause problems.  The thousands of dollars put into interior tiling have not worked.  Fortunately the Appleyards have a 30-year warranty with ABT.

Don and Karen Wied said they built their home 50 years ago and have spent $14,000 plus a the cost of a dumpster and everything they lost.  They are in the process of replacing their furnace.

Sandra Poetzel has spent in excess of $16,000 and continues to run pumps to protect her basement and those pumps are running continuously.

Makaryk said that the Village of Plainfield has endured some extra cost to their sewer treatment plant because of all the water coming in and it needs to be treated.   He said the average rainfall/snowfall for Plainfield is 32 inches of rain/snow.  The DNR reports that in the last five years Waushara County received an average of 43 inches of precipitation (rain and snow) per year.

He said the village is aware of the problem but also added that what started out with just a few homes has grown and now includes homes on both sides of the village.  He said the village will have a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at the village hall and he encourages those having water issues to attend and voice their concerns.

Makaryk said he would include the DOT, MSA Engineering, the Department of Natural Resources, Norm Duesterhoeft, Waushara County Emergency Manage-ment Director as well as Representative Patrick Testin. He added that some of those invited may be virtual and the village will accommodate through Zoom, etc. so they will be included in the meeting.

Duesterhoeft said that this is a cycle and actually the problem stems from an over abundance of rain/snow over the past six years. He said that presently that area in Waushara County especially is seeing an exceptionally high water table.  He also added that it is part of the cycle.

The DNR has spent a considerable amount of time measuring water levels in the region due to a legislatively mandated Central Sands Lakes Study which focus on nearby Long and Plainfield Lakes. The following information was submitted by Adam Freihoefer, Water Use Section Chief, Wisconsin DNR on Aug. 14th:

•As part of the Central Sands Lakes Study, the DNR has been collecting groundwater and lake level data around the three lakes (Pleasant, Long, and Plainfield) in Waushara County. Since 2013 groundwater levels have risen nearly 13 feet in monitoring wells near Plainfield. In response to the rise in groundwater levels, the adjacent seepage lakes have also responded. The water level in both Long and Plainfield Lakes near Plainfield, rose approximately 6.5 feet between June 2018 and June 2020.

•Based on Wisconsin’s long-term monitoring wells, the water levels observed in Central Wisconsin over the last few years have not been observed in at least the previous 80 years and has resulted in groundwater flooding in many areas of Waushara County.

In the meantime what does that mean for homeowners with flood issues.  It means that it may or may not be possible to lower ground water in the area.  It means that perhaps the state can offer some relief either for homeowners or for the village to hire MSA Engineers to study the problem. It means that perhaps these homeowners will be dealing with this issue for the next two to three years. It means home values in the Plainfield area will go down during this time and maybe long term.

It is hard to hear that nothing can be done to solve this problem for homeowners and the village. Let’s hope that there will be discussion and some answers at the meeting on Sept. 1 at 6:30 at the Plainfield Village Hall to get the ball rolling to see what can be done.