Welcome to Soakville

In case anyone forgot, Monday’s heavy rains reminded everyone that Saukville is a river community as much of the central village was covered in high water and Highway 33 was closed most of the day.

With the bridge over the Milwaukee River closed to traffic, morning commuters were directed south to Grafton, reportedly causing gridlock there.

In Saukville, Mill Street, Green Bay Avenue and Highway W were closed to traffic Monday morning. The downtown triangle and Grady Park and nearby parking lots also were underwater as the stormwater system was overwhelmed by the deluge.

Village firefighters and crews were out before the sun was up Monday morning putting up barricades and cleaning debris, Village President Barb Dickmann said.

“It was strictly too much (rain) too fast,” she said. “It’s just rain water, not river water.”

The National Weather Service reported Saukville got 6.7 inches in Monday morning’s storm.

Most roads and streets, except for Highway W were open by the middle of the day, but Highway 33 was closed again after a storm sewer line collapsed near Dekora Woods Road near the Wisconsin Humane Society building.

It remained closed until Tuesday afternoon.

Only a few houses had concerns about the high water, Dickmann said. The village made sand and sandbags available to residents but by Wednesday morning only about half dozen or so residents had collected bags, Dickmann said.

Sand and sandbags are available at replacement cost at the village’s public works garage, 649 S. Main St., during regular business hours. Residents should contact the police department after office hours.

While the stormwater receded Monday, the river continued to rise, causing some concern regarding flooding.

On Wednesday morning, however, Dickmann said it looked like village residents would likely escape.    

“The river is quite high but we’re fine. There’s no flooding. I’m assuming we’re going  to be OK,” she said.

Gov. Scott Walker stopped by Tuesday afternoon to look at the collapsed roadway on Highway 33 at Dekora Woods Road but did not alert village officials that he was coming.

“It was a quick stop on his way to Thiensville” and other locations that had sustained heavier damage, Dickmann said.

In the Town of Saukville, some residents near Tendick Park reported losing power and there was some road damage.

Town Supervisor Curt Rutkowski said a culvert was washed out on Hawthorne Drive and some road shoulders deteriorated from the downpour. Scattered trees and limbs also fell and there was standing water on Cedar Sauk and Hillcrest roads.

“The rate of rain was just too much,” he said.