Crystal Lake pump fund
Donation protected
Crystal Lake RV Park is a community in Wisconsin of year-round mobile homes and seasonal mobile homes, park models and trailers located on Crystal Lake in Lodi, WI. The park contains 370 sites with approx. 100 of them being full-time homes, many to retirees. The park is also a very popular vacation destination for people from across the United States.
Years ago much fundraising was done to install a pump and piping that runs across five miles to divert water to the Wisconsin River, which would allow us to keep lake levels at a manageable height. Since the lake has no natural outlet. This pump was intended to run year-round, however the DNR stepped in and for many years we were only allowed to pump from October 1st through April 1st of each year. We just received the permit to pump continuously, but we don’t have enough money to operate the pump for an entire year. Unfortunately, on March 14th, 2019, the service road failed due to heavy rain and rapid snow melt allowing water to pour into the park and onto the land surrounding many homes by three to four feet of water. People cannot access their homes and many people have been evacuated without the ability to return to their homes.
The main pump has been running non-stop, and we have had multiple auxiliary pumps running within the park which pump the water back into the lake. However, that is basically just recirculating the water and the levels around peoples’ homes is not dropping but is also not increasing. Residents of our tight-knit community have spent countless hours attempting to sandbag the shorelines, but this has also not stopped the flooding. With the inevitable rain that will come this month and next, the lake level will continue to rise faster than our existing pump can lower it. Our homes cannot withstand the imminent threat of more water.
We know that the ultimate solution is to create an outlet, but the government works slowly, and we are “a small fish in a big pond”. It takes years to get through the permitting process, the numerous meetings and commentary periods. At this point, what is needed is to upgrade our existing pump with a larger one in order to increase our pumping capacity. We can lower the lake to a safe and consistent level if we have the tools and funds needed. Please help us save our homes.
Years ago much fundraising was done to install a pump and piping that runs across five miles to divert water to the Wisconsin River, which would allow us to keep lake levels at a manageable height. Since the lake has no natural outlet. This pump was intended to run year-round, however the DNR stepped in and for many years we were only allowed to pump from October 1st through April 1st of each year. We just received the permit to pump continuously, but we don’t have enough money to operate the pump for an entire year. Unfortunately, on March 14th, 2019, the service road failed due to heavy rain and rapid snow melt allowing water to pour into the park and onto the land surrounding many homes by three to four feet of water. People cannot access their homes and many people have been evacuated without the ability to return to their homes.
The main pump has been running non-stop, and we have had multiple auxiliary pumps running within the park which pump the water back into the lake. However, that is basically just recirculating the water and the levels around peoples’ homes is not dropping but is also not increasing. Residents of our tight-knit community have spent countless hours attempting to sandbag the shorelines, but this has also not stopped the flooding. With the inevitable rain that will come this month and next, the lake level will continue to rise faster than our existing pump can lower it. Our homes cannot withstand the imminent threat of more water.
We know that the ultimate solution is to create an outlet, but the government works slowly, and we are “a small fish in a big pond”. It takes years to get through the permitting process, the numerous meetings and commentary periods. At this point, what is needed is to upgrade our existing pump with a larger one in order to increase our pumping capacity. We can lower the lake to a safe and consistent level if we have the tools and funds needed. Please help us save our homes.
Organizer
Josh Pap
Organizer
Sauk City, WI