Major changes planned for the Yahara River at Stoughton despite some opposition to the project

The area the city wants to rebuild begins at a dam just west of the South Fourth Street bridge and extends 1,000 feet along the Yahara River.

The most recent iteration of Stoughton’s redevelopment is expected to include a paddle park with white water features, accessible canoe and kayak launches, pedestrian viewing areas and shoreline improvements, said Dan Glynn, city parks and recreation director.

But there are city residents, as well as people in surrounding towns, who have expressed some opposition to the project. They are concerned about how the rebuild could affect wildlife, water levels and the general character of the nearby Yahara River Bay. There is also concern that the changes the city wants to make upriver could affect property values ​​surrounding the bay.

The bay is located between Kegonsa Lake and the city, near the intersection of Highways B and N.

The bay is used by sportsmen, hunters, fishermen, paddler and canoeists, bird watchers and many other recreationists, said Jennifer Wendt, who helped start the Friends of the Yahara Bay Facebook group in June 2020.

The bay is home to many animal and bird species as well as being used by migratory birds such as swans, pelicans, ducks and more. The goal of the Friends of Yahara Cove is the conservation of the Cove and to prevent its loss. We believe that Stoughton Whitewater Park and the removal and modification of the seawall pose a threat to the character of the bay, which is why we oppose it.

Until Stoughton can prove their plans won’t affect water levels in the bay, we remain against it, Wendt said.

The group has started a petition asking Stoughton Mayor Tim Swadley to halt the rebuilding project in 2020. The petition, as of Wednesday, has 1,992 signatures. The group is also working with a pro bono attorney, Buck Sweeney of Axley Attorneys and a resident of Viking Village Campground in Stoughton, and meets monthly.

No legal action is currently expected, according to Sweeney, who said it would depend on the nature of the project’s permits from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Because Yahara Bay area residents are not within the Stoughton city limits, we have no say in the City of Stoughton, Wendt said. They tell us they don’t have to study the effects of their short-distance changes upstream, in terms of changes in water levels and coastlines. They don’t want to spend the money needed to study the effects on the bay because it’s not their residents who are being affected here.

The city fears that the loss of the bay would reduce property values ​​and thus their tax base would suffer. Those concerned about bay conservation fear the plans will dramatically reduce our water levels and drastically reduce our area of ​​flat water, Wendt said.

Meanwhile, Swadley said the city has been trying to address the aforementioned concerns with new iterations of the project. She also said the project would have a positive economic impact on Stoughton, as visitors would not only check out the project’s amenities but also patronize nearby businesses.

Our experts tell us it will be minimal, Swadley said.

Glynn said the city has completed extensive hydraulic and hydrological modeling for the project.

Typically, a project does not account for water surface elevations miles upriver from a project site, but the city was sensitive to riparian landlords’ concerns, he said. The river was surveyed in several cross sections upstream of Kegonsa Lake during three different flow events in 2022. Modeling shows that there will be approximately 3 inches of loss during average flows during the summer. This data collection also showed that aquatic plant growth in the river has a greater impact on water surface elevation in summer than the project. Finally, water surface elevations are ultimately determined by precipitation.

The project’s original cost to the city was projected to be about $1.8 million, but that number has increased to about $3.7 million, Glynn said. He said the city’s regular loan, as well as numerous state and federal grants are funding the project.

Pending permits from the DNR, construction is expected to begin this winter, Swadley said.

The conceptual design, put together by Colorado-based consultant Recreation Engineering and Planning, originally preserved the dam. But the city had to go back to the drawing board after a canoeist was sucked under the dam and nearly drowned in August 2018, Glynn said, adding that the way the dam currently works is that water from a gora is forced under the dam, causing an entrapment hazard.

In the fall of 2018, Glynn said the project steering committee hosted experts from DNR, the River Alliance of Wisconsin and Dane County. They discussed with the committee whether the dam and children’s park could coexist, as well as any negative ecological impacts the project might have on the river.

After receiving this feedback, the steering committee voted unanimously to recommend a children’s facility where the dam currently stands, thus eliminating the risk of trapped drowning, Glynn said. It was known at the time that the decision to go ahead with the aforementioned project would result in a loss of upstream water surface elevation.

The loss of water would help improve river health by exposing contaminated sediment in the millpond. The design also allows for more natural ebbs and flows of water surface elevations, which is beneficial to river ecology.

The city completed its most recent draft project a year ago, Glynn said. He said he replaced a static paddling function with an adjustable function to create a better wave at variable flows.

Meanwhile, the City of Pleasant Springs hired its own expert, Madison Emmons environmental consultant & Olivier Resources, to test how the Stoughton project would primarily affect bay water levels.

That consultants’ model showed that the project would actually lower the bays’ water levels, but that amount of fall would depend on the flow in the river. Water changes will also depend on the season, the consultant told the city.

As the river widens upstream of Highway B, projected drawdown varies from 0.3 feet to 1.6 feet, according to consultants’ findings. During growing seasons, expected impacts are reduced to between 0.1 and 0.6 feet.

The city of Pleasant Springs is doing what it can, but it can’t afford much, Wendt said.