DRAFT Hazard Mitigation Plan
Outagamie County, Wisconsin
Original Plan Date – September 2010
EPTEC, INC Lenora Borchardt 7027 Fawn Lane Sun Prairie, WI 53590-9455 608-834-0802 [email protected] Contents
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ...... 3 Introduction and Background ...... 6 Previous Planning Efforts and Legal Basis ...... 7 Plan Preparation, Adoption and Maintenance ...... 9 Physical Characteristics of Outagamie County ...... 12 General Community Introduction ...... 12 Plan Area ...... 14 Geology ...... 15 Topography ...... 16 Climate ...... 17 Hydrology ...... 19 Soil Types ...... 22 Wetlands ...... 23 Vegetation ...... 32 Demographics ...... 33 Human Settlement Patterns ...... 33 Population ...... 34 Transportation Network ...... 36 Public Safety Support ...... 37 Archaeological and Historical Resources ...... 40 Hazard Analysis and Previous Mitigation Projects ...... 42 All Hazards ...... 44 Vulnerability ...... 44 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 45 Drought and Dust Storms ...... 51 Physical Characteristics ...... 51 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 53 Vulnerability ...... 54 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 55 Earthquakes ...... 56 Physical Characteristics ...... 56 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 58 Vulnerability ...... 60 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 61 Flooding and Dam Failure ...... 63 Physical Characteristics ...... 63 Watersheds ...... 66 Floodplain Regulations ...... 69 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 70 Vulnerability ...... 73 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 75 Fire ...... 80 Physical Characteristics ...... 80
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Frequency of Occurrence ...... 82 Vulnerability ...... 83 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 83 Severe Temperatures ...... 86 Characteristics ...... 86 Physical Characteristics: Heat ...... 86 Physical Characteristics: Cold ...... 87 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 88 Vulnerability ...... 90 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 90 Storms: Hail ...... 91 Physical Characteristics ...... 91 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 92 Vulnerability ...... 94 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 95 Storms: Lightning ...... 97 Physical Characteristics ...... 97 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 98 Vulnerability ...... 98 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 99 Storms: Thunderstorms ...... 100 Physical Characteristics ...... 100 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 101 Vulnerability ...... 105 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 106 Storms: Tornadoes and High Winds...... 107 Physical Characteristics ...... 108 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 110 Vulnerability ...... 111 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 113 Storms: Winter ...... 116 Physical Characteristics ...... 116 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 117 Vulnerability ...... 119 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 119 Utility Failure ...... 121 Physical Characteristics ...... 121 Frequency of Occurrence ...... 122 Vulnerability ...... 122 Hazard Mitigation Strategies...... 123 Non-Natural Disasters ...... 125 Airplane Accidents ...... 125 Hazardous Materials Incidents ...... 127 Manure Spill Incidents ...... 130 Mass Casualty Incidents ...... 134 Public Health Incidents ...... 135
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Terrorism/Intentional Acts of Violence Incidents ...... 138 Appendix A: Maps ...... 140 Outagamie County Base Map ...... 140 Soils Types ...... 142 Outagamie County Soils Map ...... 143 Outagamie County Peat Moss Areas Map ...... 144 Sites on the National Register of Historic Places ...... 145 Outagamie County Siren/Municipal Coverage Areas ...... 146 Outagamie County Siren/Recreational Area Coverage Map ...... 147 Outagamie County Siren/Recreational Area Coverage Map ...... 148 Earthquakes in Wisconsin ...... 153 Wisconsin Annual Precipitation ...... 154 Outagamie County Hydrography ...... 155 Outagamie County Watersheds ...... 157 Outagamie County Wetlands ...... 159 Outagamie County Dams ...... 160 Outagamie County Airports ...... 161 Outagamie County Bridges ...... 162 Outagamie County Railroads ...... 163 Outagamie County Special Needs Facilities ...... 165 Karst Potential ...... 167 Wisconsin Hail ...... 168 Wisconsin Lightning ...... 169 Wisconsin Severe Thunderstorm Winds ...... 170 Wisconsin Tornadoes (1982-2007) ...... 171 Wisconsin Tornadoes 1844-2006 ...... 172 Wisconsin Seasonal Snowfall (2006-2007) ...... 173 Wisconsin Electric Transmission Lines ...... 174 Wisconsin Electrical Substations ...... 175 Outagamie County Electrical Utility Service Areas ...... 176 Wisconsin Natural Gas Pipelines ...... 177 Wisconsin Natural Gas Pipelines ...... 178 Wisconsin Wastewater Facilities ...... 179 Outagamie County Wastewater Treatment Plants ...... 180 Outagamie County Well Casing Depth for Arsenic Advisory Area ...... 181 Outagamie County Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) Sites ...... 183 Appendix B: Plan Adoption ...... 184 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies ...... 185 Appendix D: Community Input ...... 197 Appendix E: HAZUS Vulnerability Assessment ...... 224 Appendix F: Inter-Revision Updates ...... 232
Page 5 Introduction and Background
Introduction and Background
The Outagamie County Hazard Mitigation Plan is intended to provide strategies for reducing susceptibility to future damage to public and private infrastructure in the county. The Outagamie County Emergency Management Office applied for and received a hazard mitigation planning grant in 2008. This grant program is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the state Department of Military Affairs - Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM). The procedures used in preparing this plan are based on guidance provided by FEMA and WEM and should therefore be considered consistent with the requirements and procedures in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000.
Section 409 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-228, as amended) is the impetus for involvement of state and local governments in evaluating and mitigating natural hazards as a condition of receiving federal disaster assistance. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) rules for implementing Section 409 are in 44 CFR Part 206 Subpart M.
Section 409 states that the county is obligated to try to reduce damage susceptibility to any hazard that has received relief funding in the past. Developing a hazard mitigation plan provides an opportunity for communities to meet this requirement by developing strategies for reduction of potential losses from future natural disasters. Hazard mitigation planning is the process of developing a set of actions designed to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. Completion of this plan should put Outagamie County in an advantageous position when competing for pre- and post-disaster mitigation project dollars because projects have been pre-identified. The cooperation of government, private and volunteer agencies is essential in mitigation efforts and over the long term it is hoped that implementation of this plan will save taxpayer dollars because less money is needed for post-disaster recovery activities. Furthermore, mitigation planning measures incorporated in economic or community development goals support more comprehensive and effective government. This plan evaluates the risks that all natural hazards pose to the citizens and property of Outagamie County by presenting:
Page 6 Introduction and Background
A profile and analysis of past hazardous events
An assessment of vulnerability of community assets
Potential hazard mitigation strategies
Methods for building community support and ensuring plan adoption
Plan Overview
The Outagamie County Hazard Mitigation Plan provides background information on Outagamie County and identifies those hazards that have occurred or could occur in the county. It includes a description of each hazard, its frequency of occurrence, appropriate actions in case of emergency and possible steps to mitigate the hazard. These hazards are the basis for the development of all county emergency plans.
A well-prepared plan allows emergency management to act swiftly and efficiently in the event of a hazard, reducing the damage and the cost incurred from displacing residents and businesses. Hazard mitigation activities will be emphasized in the plan as a major component of overall emergency management. The plan is intended to provide strategies for reducing future damages to public and private infrastructure in the county, including flood damage.
Previous Planning Efforts and Legal Basis
The Outagamie County Emergency Management Office has completed and regularly updates the Outagamie County Hazard Analysis. This Hazard Analysis identifies all likely natural and technological hazards that might or have occurred within the county. The Hazard Analysis does not generally include detailed mitigation strategies for the identified hazards.
There have also been plans and ordinances completed by individual Outagamie County departments or municipalities, some of these were used as reference materials for this plan, including:
Outagamie County Code of Ordinances http://www.municode.com/resources/gateway.asp?pid=14359&sid=49 Chapter 14 Civil Emergencies Chapter 16 Emergency Services
Page 7 Introduction and Background
Chapter 18 Environment Chapter 20 Erosion and Sediment Chapter 24 Floods Chapter 26 Health Chapter 32 Law Enforcement Chapter 38 Natural Resources Chapter 40 Parks and Recreation Chapter 42 Sanitary Code Chapter 44 Shoreland-Wetland Zoning Chapter 46 Solid Waste Chapter 48 Stormwater Management Chapter 54 Zoning
City of Appleton Municipal Code http://www.appleton.org/departments/attorney/forms/municode.pdf
Village of Little Chute http://library6.municode.com/default- test/home.htm?infobase=14470&doc_action=whatsnew
Town of Buchanan http://www.townofbuchanan.org/townofbuchanan/zoning++municip al+code/default.asp
Town of Dale http://www.townofdale.org/townofdale/ordinances/default.asp
Town of Freedom http://www.townoffreedom.org/townoffreedom/municipal+code/defa ult.asp
Town of Grand Chute http://www.grandchute.net/grandchute/municipal+code/default.asp
Town of Greenville http://www.townofgreenville.com/town/town-ordinances.htm
Town of Hortonia http://townofhortonia.org/media/g/ordinances/default.aspx
Page 8 Introduction and Background
Plan Preparation, Adoption and Maintenance
The Outagamie County Emergency Management Director contracted with Emergency Planning, Training and Exercise Consulting (EPTEC, Inc.) to draft this plan. A Hazard Mitigation Committee was organized to oversee the completion of this plan. The committee members include:
. Robert Toby Paltzer, Outagamie County Executive . Christina Mueller, Outagamie County Emergency Management . Steve Hansel, Outagamie County Emergency Management . Brad Bastian, Outagamie County Planning . Mike Hendrick, Outagamie County Planning . Traci Meulemans, Outagamie County Planning . Jeremy Freund, Outagamie County Land Conservation Department . Tim Roach, Outagamie County Zoning . Mike Jobe, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office . Melody Bockenfeld, Outagamie County Public Health . Rick Pauls, Outagamie County Treasurer . Karen Dickrell, Outagamie County/University of Wisconsin Extension . Gene Reece, City of Appleton Fire Department/EM . Kurt Eggebrech, City of Appleton Health Department . Paul Hirte, City of Kaukauna Fire Department/EM . Tim Bantes, Town of Grand Chute Fire Department/EM . Mark Recker, Fox Valley Metro Police Department (Villages of Little Chute and Kimberly) . Darius Parks, Fox Valley Metro Police Department . Sara Knapp, Village of Hortonville Police Department . Lisa Van Schyndel, Town of Buchanan EMS/EM . Jim Molloy, Town of Freedom Police Department . Harlon Volkman, Town of Osborn Chairperson/EM . Lenora Borchardt, EPTEC, Inc. (Contractor)
An informational mailing with jurisdiction participation agreements was created to define which hazards on which to focus and copies were distributed throughout the community. Meetings were held with elected officials from the municipalities to explain and gather input regarding the program (e.g., previous occurrences, mitigation strategies.) The committee met several times, first to evaluate and incorporate input from local officials and then to review and provide input on the progress of the plan. The draft plan was put onto the county’s website for review by the public, academia, business
Page 9 Introduction and Background
leaders and elected officials. The County Emergency Management Director mentioned the plan on the website during a radio interview, a press release was sent to media outlets and a public notice was placed in the paper of record to direct people to the draft plan for review and comments. A copy of the plan was distributed to the County Emergency Management Directors from Brown, Calumet, Shawano, Waupaca and Winnebago Counties for comments. A list of meeting dates and informational sessions to gather public and official input can be viewed in Appendix D.
The Outagamie County Hazard Mitigation Plan Workgroup reviewed the past events records (generally gathered from the National Weather Service) and a consensus was reached on the anticipated probability of future events. This probability was designated as “high,” “medium” or “low” by the workgroup.
The workgroup also, after reviewing the draft plan, selected the potential mitigation projects, which are listed in Appendix C (Summary of Mitigation Strategies), and discussed in more detail in each chapter’s Hazard Mitigation Strategies section. The workgroup participants were given the Mitigation Ideas: Possible Mitigation Measures by Hazard Type (Mitigation Ideas, FEMA-R5, 9/02) booklet as an aid to generating ideas. All of the ideas generated during the workgroup meetings were incorporated into the plan and can be found in the Hazard Mitigation Strategies section of each chapter and are summarized in Appendix C. Based on the information collected, each of these projects was assigned a “high,” “medium” or “low” priority based on the workgroup’s consensus assessment during a discussion of the balances of risk, reward, cost effectiveness (cost benefit) and likelihood of local will and funding (local or grant) to complete the strategy.
Meetings were held with the municipal leaders advising them of the need to formally adopt this plan as a prerequisite for future mitigation funding eligibility. A draft has been sent to Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) for review and tentative approval. Based on WEM’s comments, a final draft plan has been completed and was posted to the internet for comments.
A resolution also has been passed by the Outagamie County board, the Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna and Seymour; the Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols and Shiocton and the Towns of Black Creek, Bovina, Buchanan, Center, Cicero, Dale, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and
Page 10 Introduction and Background
Vandenbroek. The City of XX, the Villages of XX and the Towns of XX did not adopt the plan. Scanned copies of the adoption resolutions can be found in Appendix B. Please note that the Villages of Howard and Wrightstown were included in the Brown County, WI plan and the City of New London was included in the Waupaca County, WI plan and will not be specifically represented in this plan. The final plan has been submitted to WEM for review and certification and notice of acceptance has been received of FEMA plan approval as of --, 2010.
The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires the monitoring, evaluation and updating of the hazard mitigation plan every five years. This hazard mitigation plan is designed to be a “living” document and therefore will be reviewed and updated within five years from its approval date. The Outagamie County Hazard Mitigation Plan Workgroup will provide leadership and guidance throughout the plan’s life cycle (i.e., monitoring, evaluating and updating.) Updates will allow municipal leaders and the public to provide input into the process. The public will be notified of this opportunity via legal public notices.
As information is received by the County Emergency Management Director between the five-year update periods (e.g., comprehensive or capital improvement plans) that might be included, it will be added to Appendix F: Inter-Revision Updates. Outagamie County Emergency Management maintains responsibility and is the point of contact for all issues regarding this plan. Municipalities can contact the County Emergency Management Director to add updated local information to Appendix F. Furthermore, the County Emergency Management Director will include in the Plan-of-Work program an annual letter that reaches out to the applicable county offices and municipalities. This letter will query if there are new elements for the mitigation plan as well as asking if there are any plans (new or updates) in which the mitigation plan can and/or will be used as a source plan.
The plan participants recognize this document as an important planning tool within the community and will use this plan as a reference as they complete other related planning such as storm water management and comprehensive plans.
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Physical Characteristics of Outagamie County
General Community Introduction
A large concentration of the county’s 174,993 residents resides within the Fox Cities, the focal point of the region's commerce and industry. The Fox Cities, with portions located in Winnebago, Calumet, and Outagamie Counties, have a population of 180,000. The Fox Cities comprise the third largest metropolitan area in the State of Wisconsin and one of the fastest growing.
The water power of the Fox River provided the beginnings of what would become, and still remains, a world renowned paper industry. The river provided the needed power for the first mills in the area, which were flour and woolen mills. These mills were later converted to paper production and the early giants of the paper industry, Kimberly-Clark, Appleton Papers, Wisconsin Tissue (now part of Georgia-Pacific) and Menasha Corporation, have earned this area its nickname the Paper Valley. While the paper industry dominates the strong local manufacturing sector, companies engaged in plastics, printing and graphics arts, machinery, metals, electronics and food processing contribute heavily to the diversified manufacturing economy. Dairy, farming and related enterprises anchor a strong agribusiness economy in the Outagamie County area. Due to the highly educated work force, trade and service industries flourish as well. Six insurance companies as well as a prospering network of financial and health institutions call the region home.
Retail development and sales continue to soar as a result of the vibrant economy and fast growth of the region. Downtown redevelopments in many communities have provided thriving downtown districts. Further, Outagamie County is home to the Fox River Mall, the second largest shopping mall in the state. Outagamie County and the Fox Cities also offer a wide variety of cultural, artistic and sporting events through such organizations as Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin - Fox Valley, the Fox Valley Symphony, Attic Theater and the Outagamie County Historical Society. Museums include the Hearthstone Historic House Museum, the Houdini Historical Center, the Outagamie Museum and the Fox Cities Children’s Museum. Sporting events include stockcar and drag racing at the Wisconsin International
Page 12 Physical Characteristics
Raceway and class A minor league baseball at the Fox Cities Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
History shows that through the region’s progressive attitude many "firsts", both nationally and globally, occurred in the Outagamie County area. Lawrence University, the second oldest co- educational college in the nation, was established in 1847. Today Lawrence University draws students from virtually every state in the nation as well as from over 30 foreign countries. In 1917 the first facility in the United States constructed exclusively for vocational education was completed. This was the forerunner to what today has become the world renowned Fox Valley Technical College, serving over 40,000 students annually. With the joint cooperation of Outagamie and Winnebago counties, the state university system also maintains a campus, the University of Wisconsin - Fox Valley, in the area.
In 1877 the first telephone exchange in the state was established when a local banker connected his home and office. Soon thereafter other phones were added to this exchange which was purchased in 1881 by the Wisconsin Telephone Company, now part of Ameritech. The year 1882 saw many firsts with the first hydroelectric central station in the United States beginning operation. Soon after, the Hearthstone House became the first home in the world lighted by a hydroelectric station. The Appleton Edison Light Company became the first organization in the world to commercially distribute electric power. In 1886 the nation’s, and probably the world’s, first commercially successful electric street- car line began operation. The City of Seymour’s claim to fame is being the home of the American classic - the hamburger - created here in the late 1800s.
Well known people from the Outagamie County region include escape artist Harry Houdini, who spent his childhood here and often referred to Appleton as his hometown. The Outagamie Museum houses the Houdini Historical Center which contains the world’s most extensive collection of Houdini memorabilia. Novelist Edna Ferber moved to the area as a young girl and graduated from the Appleton High School. Her first paid writing job was with the local newspaper.
Senator Joseph McCarthy was born here and started his political career in the Fox Cities. Noted film director Howard Hanks grew up in the Fox Cities as did actor Willem Dafoe.
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Football star Rocky Bleier, of Pittsburgh Steelers fame, was born and raised in the area.
The governing body of Outagamie County is an elected 36 member board of supervisors and is responsible for policy and budget oversight functions. An elected county executive is the chief executive officer of the county. This position coordinates and directs all administrative and management functions.
(http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/home/about/overview.html)
Plan Area
Outagamie County covers 640 square miles of land and 4 square miles of water. Outagamie County is home to approximately 174,993 people (U.S. Census estimate, 2008).
Outagamie County lies within the Central Plain geographic province in the northwest portion of the county and within the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands geographic province in the central and southeast part of the county. The Central Plain of Wisconsin is a crescent- shaped belt covering about 13,000 square miles. All of it is floored by the weak Cambrian sandstone, except in the northwest where the removal of the sandstone has exposed the underlying Keweenawan lavas for a small area. The local relief varies considerably, but except for a few isolated hills it is nowhere great. The Central Plain is not all a continuous plain, but in many places is a region of low hills.
In the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands geographic province, topographic features are distinct, but they are low. Alternate weak and resistant rock layers are carved by streams and weather into a belted plain. This plain has parallel strips of upland and lowland corresponding to the more important resistant and weak strata. The uplands are called cuestas. A cuesta is a ridge which has a steep escarpment on one side and a long gentle slope of the other. The topography of the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands is controlled by cuestas. The Niagara Cuesta runs through Outagamie County. The upland on the back slope of the Niagara Cuesta is a region of very moderate relief, with glacial deposits forming the greatest irregularities. The erosion of the largest streams, like the Milwaukee River, results in a maximum relief of only 100 to 120 feet by cutting into the glacial drift and the rock.
Page 14 Physical Characteristics
(http://www.wisconline.com)
Outagamie County is bordered on the east by Brown County, on the south by Calumet and Winnebago Counties, on the west by Waupaca County and on the north by Waupaca, Shawano and Brown Counties.
In Wisconsin, there are three types of sub-county, full-service local government units: towns, which are unincorporated, and villages and cities, which are incorporated. Outagamie County contains the Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, New London and Seymour; the Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, portions of Howard, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols, Shiocton and portions of Wrightstown and the Towns of Black Creek, Bovina, Buchanan, Center, Cicero, Dale, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and Vandenbroek. (See Appendix A for a map of Outagamie County.) The City of New London is represented in the Waupaca County, WI plan and the Villages of Howard and Wrightstown are in the Brown County, WI plan. The County and all municipalities have adopted the plan. (Copies of the adoptions can be found in Appendix B.)
Geology
The structure of the area's bedrock and its subsequent modification by glacial action is largely responsible for the physical appearance of the County. The glaciers scraped and carried away parts of the rocks, but their major effect was the material deposit on top of other rocks. Most of Outagamie County is gently rolling with drumlins, moraines and small scarps of bedrock. The northwest quarter of the County and the area along the Fox River, which were formed by glacial lake deposits, are the exception.
The table below lists a few of the most significant geological features in the County. Although not listed below, local sand and gravel deposits are valuable natural resources and are important to local economic base.
GEOLOGICAL LOCATION GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES NAME SIGNIFICANCE Duck Creek Esker Parallel to County Highway "E" Lurid Esker in the Towns of Freedom and Oneida
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GEOLOGICAL LOCATION GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES NAME SIGNIFICANCE Mosquito Hill Two miles southeast of New Bedrock Outlier & London in Town of Liberty Oxbow Lakes Duck Creek Bedrock Six miles northeast of Appleton Bedrock exposure in in the Town of Freedom stream bed (Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008)
Topography
Wisconsin lies in the upper Midwest between Lake Superior, the upper peninsula of Michigan, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi and Saint Croix Rivers. Its greatest length is 320 miles and greatest width 295 miles for a total area 56,066 square miles. Glaciation has largely determined the topography and soils of the state, except for the 13,360 square miles of driftless area in southwestern Wisconsin. The various glaciations created rolling terrain with nearly 9,000 lakes and several areas of marshes and swamps. Elevations range from about 600 feet above sea level along the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan shores and in the Mississippi floodplain in southwestern Wisconsin to nearly 1,950 feet at Rib and Strawberry Hills.
The Northern Highlands, a plateau extending across northern Wisconsin, is an area of about 15,000 square miles with elevations from 1,000 to 1,800 feet. This area has many lakes and is the origin of most of the major streams in the state. The slope down to the narrow Lake Superior plain is quite steep. A comparatively flat, crescent-shaped lowland lies immediately south of the Northern Highlands and embodies nearly one-fourth of Wisconsin. The eastern ridges and lowlands to the southeast of the Central Plains are the most densely populated and have the highest concentration of industry and farms. The uplands of southwestern Wisconsin west of the ridges and lowlands and south of the Central Plains make up about one-fourth of the state. This is the roughest section of the state, rising 200 to 350 feet above the Central Plains and 100 to 200 feet above the Eastern Ridges and Lowlands. The Mississippi River bluffs rise 230 to 650 feet.
(http://www.uwex.edu/sco/state.html)
Topography is the configuration of the earth's surface. The highest point in Outagamie County is approximately 1,015 feet above mean sea level at a point 3.5 miles east of Hortonville. The lowest point is
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about 600 feet above mean sea level where the Fox River enters Brown County, northeast of Kaukauna.
Three distinctive topographic units are present in the county. In the southeast corner of the county, along both sides of the Fox River, there exists a relatively flat but well drained area formed by glacial lake deposits. The northwestern portion of the county is flat and blanketed by glacial lake deposits and recent floodplain deposits. An escarpment of Prairie du Chien dolomite bounds this area on the south and east. The remainder of the county consists of a strip approximately ten miles wide and is characterized by gently rolling morainal hills and occasional scarfs and cliffs of exposed bedrock. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle topographic maps are available for all of Outagamie County. (Outagamie Comprehensive Plan 2008)
Climate
The Wisconsin climate is typically continental with some modification by Lakes Michigan and Superior. Winters are generally cold and snowy and summers are warm. About two- thirds of the annual precipitation falls during the growing season; this is normally adequate for vegetation although there are occasional droughts. The climate favors dairy farming and the primary crops are corn, small grains, hay and vegetables. Storm tracks generally move from west to east and southwest to northeast.
The average annual temperature varies from 39oF in the north to about 50oF in the south with statewide extreme records of 114oF (Wisconsin Dells, 7/13/1936) and minus 55oF (Couderay, 2/2/1996 & 2/4/1996). During more than one-half of the winters, temperatures fall to minus 40oF or lower and almost every winter temperatures of minus 30oF or colder are reported from northern stations. Summer temperatures above 90oF average two to four days in northern counties and about 14 days in southern districts. During marked cool outbreaks in summer months, the central lowlands occasionally report freezing temperatures.
The freeze-free season ranges from around 80 days per year in the upper northeast and north-central lowlands to about 180 days in the Milwaukee area. The pronounced moderating effect of Lake Michigan is well-illustrated by the fact that the growing season of 140 to 150 days along the east-central coastal area is of the same
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duration as in the southwestern Wisconsin valleys. The short growing season in the central portion of the state is attributed to a number of factors, among them an inward cold air drainage and the low heat capacities of the peat and sandy soils. The average date of last spring freeze ranges from early May along the Lake Michigan coastal area and southern counties to early June in the northernmost counties. The first autumn freezes occur in late August and early September in the northern and central lowlands and in mid-October along the Lake Michigan coastline, however a July freeze is not entirely unusual in the north and central Wisconsin lowlands.
The long-term mean annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 34 inches over most of the Western Uplands and Northern Highlands, then diminishes to about 28 inches along most of the Wisconsin Central Plain and Lake Superior Coastal area. The higher average annual precipitation coincides generally with the highest elevations, particularly the windward slopes of the Western Uplands and Northern Highlands. Thunderstorms average about 30 per year in northern Wisconsin to about 40 per year in southern counties and occur mostly in the summer. Occasional hail, wind and lightning damage are also reported.
The average seasonal snowfall varies from about 30 inches at Beloit to well over 100 inches in northern Iron County along the steep western slope of the Gogebic Range. Greater average snowfall is recorded over the Western Uplands and Eastern Ridges than in the adjacent lowlands. The mean dates of first snowfall of consequence (an inch or more) vary from early November in northern localities to early December in southern Wisconsin counties. Average annual duration of snow cover ranges from 85 days in southernmost Wisconsin to more than 140 days along Lake Superior. The snow cover acts as protective insulation for grasses, autumn seeded grains, alfalfa and other vegetation.
The average growing season is defined as the number of days following the last 32oF freeze in the spring through the beginning of fall. Outagamie County’s growing season averages 170 days. Shallow lakes normally freeze in late November and remain frozen until late March or early April.
(http://www.uwex.edu/sco/state.html)
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Climate Normals Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Ave Daily High (F°) 23.8 28.5 39.6 54.6 68.0 77.1 81.9 79.0 70.3 58.1 42.7 28.6
Ave Daily Low (F°) 7.2 11.2 22.6 35.0 46.3 56.2 62.0 59.7 51.5 40.7 28.2 13.8
Growing Degree 0 1 18 112 314 501 666 595 367 152 24 1 Days Heating Degree 1535 1263 1051 561 254 52 8 21 139 489 885 1358 Days Cooling Degree 0 0 0 0 36 108 203 151 22 5 0 0 Days Ave Precipitation 1.12 1.08 2.17 2.78 3.19 3.64 3.21 3.74 3.66 2.45 2.17 1.54 (")
Ave Snowfall (") 10.9 7.9 8.2 2.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 3.8 11.7 Data from the weather station at Appleton, latitude 45°08' N, longitude 89°09' W, elevation 750 ft. http://www.wisconline.com/counties/Outagamie/climate.html
Midwestern Regional Climate Center
Hydrology
The land in Wisconsin drains into Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers
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form most of the western boundary. About one-half of the northwestern portion of the state is drained through the Chippewa River, while the remainder of this region drains directly into the Mississippi or St. Croix Rivers and into Lake Superior. The Wisconsin River has its source at a small lake nearly 1,600 feet above mean sea level on the Upper Michigan boundary and drains most of central Wisconsin. Most of its tributaries also spring from the many lakes in the north. Except for the Rock River, a Mississippi River tributary which flows through northern Illinois, eastern Wisconsin, including Outagamie County, drains into Lake Michigan.
Most of the streams and lakes in the state are ice-covered from late November to late March. Snow covers the ground in practically all the winter months except in extreme southern areas. Flooding is most frequent and most serious in April due to the melting of snow and spring rains. During this period, flood conditions are often aggravated by ice jams which back up the flood waters. Excessive rains of the thunderstorm type sometimes produce tributary flooding or flash flooding along the smaller streams and creeks.
(http://www.uwex.edu/sco/state.html)
Groundwater reservoirs are recharged by direct precipitation. Spring is a prime time for recharge because evapotranspiration is low and melting snow and rainfall infiltrate and percolate the water table on unfrozen ground. Fall is another prime time for high recharge. During the summer, groundwater levels drop because precipitation is lower causing losses to evaporation and transpiration to exceed precipitation. In addition, groundwater is lost to surface waters by discharge in the form of springs (DeVaul, 1967). The winter period normally lacks infiltration because of frozen ground.
Hidden beneath the land surface of Outagamie County are natural reservoirs of groundwater. Groundwater is contained within the pore spaces between soil and rock particles and within cracks in rocks in formations called aquifers. Precipitation in the form of rain and snow is the source of all groundwater. Of the 28 inches of average annual rainfall received by the county, approximately 3 inches percolates down through unsaturated soil and rock formations to eventually become groundwater. Groundwater is vitally important to the county since it is the source of water supply for a majority of county residents. The City of Appleton uses surface water and the Town of Grand Chute purchases their water
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from Appleton. The water in aquifers is released to the surface through wells and springs or by seepage into lakes, rivers and wetlands. Therefore groundwater is both a reservoir used for drinking, irrigation and industrial use and a recharge resource maintaining surface water levels during periods of low precipitation. Total groundwater use in Outagamie County is estimated to be four billion gallons annually. Groundwater resources constitute an extremely valuable element of the natural resource base of Outagamie County. The groundwater reservoir not only sustains lake levels and provides the base flow of streams in the county but also comprises a major source of water for domestic, municipal and industrial water users. Like surface water, groundwater is susceptible to depletion in quantity and to deterioration in quality.
Outagamie County, with 33 lakes and 174 acres of lake surface area, is limited in lake surface. The vast majority of the lakes are small potholes, kettles, bayous or excavations averaging approximately three acres in size. Lake Winnebago, which is just over two miles south of the county, helps meet user demand generated in the county. Black Otter Lake in Hortonville represents the county's largest lake with 75 acres. This is 43 percent of the total county surface water area classified as lakes. This lake is classified as an impoundment. It has a maximum depth of nine feet and 3.2 miles of shore land. Allerton, Blueberry and Shaky Lakes can be classified as natural wilderness lakes. Both Allerton and Blueberry are privately owned while Shaky Lake is owned by the state. All three lakes meet scientific area classification criteria, which identifies that the lakes value as an educational, natural and archeological resource be preserved. In addition to the water bodies listed in the DNR inventory, many other impoundments and excavations exist through the county. Two such bodies of water exist within Kaukauna; Kelso Pond (3.5 acres) and Unnamed Pond (8.5 acres), as do others especially within the Fox Cities area that were created as a result of stormwater management concerns.
OUTAGAMIE COUNTY LAKE LOCATION TYPE ACRES INVENTORY LAKE Allerton Bovina Pothole 1.9 Black Otter Hortonville Impoundment 74.7 Blueberry Bovina Bayou 1.4 Mosquito Hill Liberty Bayou 3.8 Shaky Dale Pothole 1.9 Squaw Dale Pothole 5.5
The county's stream resources help offset its deficiency in lakes. The Fox and Wolf Rivers and their tributaries provide an additional
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2,404 acres of surface water. These streams provide 93 percent of the county's surface water resources. There are 26 streams in Outagamie County, which extend 202 miles in total length.
The Wolf River is the longest river in the county, stretching 35.4 miles in length. Sand is the dominant bottom material and in- stream cover, especially fallen trees, is common. The river is an important recreational resource utilized for fishing, boating and as a canoe route. The river and its environs is also an excellent habitat for wildlife. There are additional streams in Outagamie County that are named, such as Garners Creek and Peerenboom Creek. In addition, there are numerous streams that are not named
Soil Types
The soils in Outagamie County are nearly level to very steep. They are suitable for many different crops. Corn, oats and alfalfa are the chief crops. The main source of farm income is dairy farming. Wooded areas are scattered throughout the county.
A soil association is a landscape that has a distinctive proportional pattern of soils. It normally consists of one or more major soils and at least one minor soil. There are seven soil associations in Outagamie County.
The Hortonville-Symco association is described as well drained and somewhat poorly drained, nearly level to steep, medium textured and moderately coarse textured, moderately permeable or moderately slowly permeable soils that are underlain mainly by calcareous loam or clay loam glacial till. The Winneconne-Manawa association is described as well drained to somewhat poorly drained, nearly level to sloping, medium textured and moderately fine textured, slowly permeable or very slowly permeable soils that are underlain by silty clay glacial till or clay lacustrine sediments. The Carbondale-Keowns-Cathro association is described as very poorly drained and poorly drained, nearly level, organic and medium textured, moderately slowly permeable to moderately rapidly permeable soils that are underlain by lacustrine silt and fine sand, organic material or loamy sediments. The Shiocton-Nichols association is described as somewhat poorly drained and moderately well drained nearly level and gently sloping, medium textured and moderately coarse textured, moderately permeable soils that are underlain mainly by calcareous silt and very fine sand.
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The Onaway-Solona association is described as well drained to somewhat poorly drained, nearly level to moderately steep, medium textured, moderately permeable soils that are underlain by calcareous loam or sandy loam glacial till. The Menominee-Grays- Rousseau association is described as well drained and moderately well drained, nearly level to sloping coarse textured and medium textured, moderately permeable to rapidly permeable soils that are underlain by lacustrine silt loam and very fine sand, windblown fine sand, or sandy loam glacial till. The Wainola-Deford-Rousseau association is described as poorly drained to well drained, nearly level and gently sloping, coarse textured, rapidly permeable soils that are underlain by windblown fine sand or lacustrine fine sand. (Soil Survey of Outagamie County, 1978)
Wetlands
Because wetlands provide many benefits to the environment, several municipal, state and federal ordinances/regulations protect wetland areas. The basic concept associated with these laws is that wetland areas on any property cannot be disturbed without a permit. Wetlands store flood waters and filter water from precipitation before it enters lakes and streams. Some wetlands also recharge local groundwater aquifers. By slowing water movement, wetlands reduce the likelihood that heavy rainfall or spring snowmelt will cause erosion and flooding. Wetlands retain eroded soil and hold nutrients that would otherwise promote excessive weed growth and algae blooms in lakes and streams. These nutrients, when held in the wetlands, produce a heavy growth of vegetation that provides nesting sites, food and cover for waterfowl, small mammals and many other types of wildlife. Wetlands also provide recreational opportunities for humans (wildlife observation, hiking, hunting, etc).
There are three basic factors in determining whether or not a property is a wetland:
o The presence of water at, near or above the surface (hydrology).
o Water present long enough to sustain aquatic plant life (hydrophytic vegetation).
o Soils indicative of wet conditions (hydric soils).
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Wetlands are those areas where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which have soils indicative of wet conditions (Wisconsin Administrative Code NR115). Wetlands have three common functions that make them valuable resources. Wetlands improve water quality by filtering upland erosion and pollution, they maintain and stabilize water quantity by storing and releasing water and they provide important habitat for wildlife.
Outagamie County has approximately 74,221 acres of wetlands in the form of swamps, marshes and bogs according to DNR estimates from 1978-79 aerial photography. The wetlands comprise roughly 18 percent of the county's total land area. The most extensive wetland area is found along the Wolf and Embarrass Rivers while other significant wetlands are located adjacent to most streams. The vast majority is located within the Wolf River watershed in the western two-thirds of the county.
It has been estimated that less than half of the original five million acres of wetlands in Wisconsin remains. The decline in wetlands is largely the result of both public and private policy, which historically regarded them as wastelands with little or no economic return. Thousands of acres have been drained or filled to support agriculture or urbanization. The Department of Natural Resources estimates that approximately 24,000 acres of wetlands have been drained in Outagamie County since 1900.
Outagamie County adopted a revised Shoreland-Floodplain- Wetland Ordinance in 1985 and, by reference, the 1983 Wetland Inventory Maps produced by the DNR. However, this ordinance regulates only those wetlands within the shoreland area of a navigable stream. Current management practices do not cover large areas of wetland that do not border a navigable stream.
One of the major threats to the county’s wetlands is the spread of purple loosestrife. This plant is of European origin that was introduced to North America both as a contaminant from ship ballast and as a medicinal herb used for the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding and ulcers. It is a wetland perennial that now grows in all contiguous states of the country except Florida, as well as in all the Canadian provinces. Invasion of purple loosestrife into a wetland can result in the suppression of the resident plant community. This can result in the loss of natural foods and cover, which endangers wildlife. There is no effective method to control purple loosestrife except where it occurs in isolated stands. In these
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cases the plant should be uprooted by hand and removed from the site. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering biological weed control. By introducing specific insects to the environment that will control the spread of the plant, the USDA hopes to at least be able to slow the plants expansion and to do it in an environmentally friendly manner. (Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008)
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Outagamie County has approximately 74,221 acres of wetlands (approximately 18.1% of its total area). This is 1.4 % of the total statewide acreage of wetlands.
(http://dnr.wi.gov/wetlands/acreage.html) Land Use
The existing land use of Outagamie County is a mixture of rapidly growing metropolitan areas, small cities and villages, expanding agricultural operations and large expanses of natural areas. However the county has experienced continued growth over the years and the development pressure that is associated with growth has also been consistently increasing. The table below shows the amount of land that development has consumed over the past few decades.
OUTAGAMIE COUNTY LAND USE ACRES ACREAGES LAND USE TYPE 1971 1980 2000 Agricultural 276,672 259,911 212,402 Residential 17,908 21,330 26,399 Commercial 2,297 2,538 3,218 Industrial 1,377 2,346 4,286 Communication/Utilities 555 303 195 Public Facilities 2,793 1,430 2,822 Recreation/Open Space 9,386 9,561 14,480 Transportation 952 808 1,316 Vacant/Undeveloped 100,201 112,541 118,307 Road-Railroad Right-of-Way n.a. n.a. 19,520 Water n.a. n.a. 8,095 Construction n.a. n.a. 379 Total Acres 412,141 410,768 412,992 Total Developed Acres 35,268 38,316 74,118 Population 119,398 128,730 160,971 Persons Per Developed Acre 3.4 3.4 2.2 (Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008)
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The State of Wisconsin manages nearly 9,000 acres of outdoor recreational lands available for public use within Outagamie County. This acreage is in the form of wildlife and habitat areas, which are further described below.
The Deer Creek Wildlife Area encompasses 1,294.56 acres in Outagamie County. There are approximately 200 additional acres to this site immediately north in Waupaca County. Located in the northwest portion of the county, this area supports a large wildlife population including deer and a variety of waterfowl. The Liberty Wildlife Area is located in west central Outagamie County approximately two miles east of the City of New London. This 640 acre site is composed primarily of wooded wetland as well as Embarrass River tributaries. Like all the state wildlife areas, this site supports an abundance of wildlife. The Mack Wildlife Area consists of 1,337.31 acres located along the south side of Highway 54, approximately half way between the Villages of Black Creek and Shiocton. The location of this resource offers excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing. It is a popular spot to watch the swan migration during the spring of each year. The Maine Wildlife Area is also located in northwest Outagamie County. It consists of 720 acres, the vast majority of which is wooded wetlands. This site includes tributaries to the Wolf River and a number of small ponds, which attracts large numbers of animals. The Outagamie County Wildlife Area is located along Highways M and 187 approximately three miles north of Shiocton. This resource abuts the Wolf River and covers 685.74 acres. Access to the river makes this site very important. Shaky Lake Wildlife Area is located in the southwestern portion of the county in the Town of Dale. It encompasses 220 acres and includes Shaky Lake, which is classified as a natural wilderness lake. The lake is less than two acres in size and is surrounded by wetlands. Spoehrs Marsh is another state owned resource located along the Wolf River. It encompasses approximately 350 acres and is two miles north of Shiocton in the Town of Bovina. This marsh consists of two sites, the largest one is immediately adjacent to the Outagamie Wildlife Area. A smaller 14 acre site is roughly three-quarters of a mile to the
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south of the main portion. The state has recently purchased an additional 60 acres of land in this vicinity. Watchable Wildlife Area was created by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in the Town of Bovina. This site is approximately 490 acres in size and is located immediately north of the Mack Wildlife Area, between Shiocton and Black Creek. The Wolf River Wildlife Area is located in the Town of Hortonia along the south side of the Wolf River. It covers 46.6 acres, making it the smallest state recreational resource in the county. This site is one mile southeast of New London and is land locked. Access to it is via the river. The Wolf River Bottoms Wildlife Area is one of the newest additions to state's resources in Outagamie County. It is also the largest at 2,495.35 acres. It is located in the towns of Deer Creek and Maine a little over three miles north of Shiocton. This site consists of between 1,200 and 1,800 acres of lowland flowage. A deer proof fence confines approximately 1,800 acres. Nearly 26 miles of dikes and trails spread throughout the property. This site is heavily used by both local and migratory wildlife.
Outagamie County administers and maintains over 900 acres of outdoor recreational lands. These sites range from small boat landing sites to large multi-use facilities.
Barker Park is a 29 acre facility located along the west side of the Wolf River, a short distance south of the Village of Shiocton. This park contains a boat launch and parking for up to 75 vehicles. There are also picnic tables and grills available in addition to a well with a pump. Barker Park is one of four county-owned facilities with access to the Wolf River. The vast majority of this site is maintained as woodland, which provides for excellent wildlife habitat. Black Otter Lake Park is located along the north shore of Black Otter Lake in the Village of Hortonville. This facility is approximately three acres in size and offers a boat launch, parking for 30 vehicles, picnic area and a small shelter. Immediately to the east is the Village's Alonzo Park, which is linked to this county park by a pedestrian bridge. Alonzo Park provides access to playground equipment, a trail and restrooms. Buchman Access is a six acre parcel along the Wolf River, just north of Hortonville along County Highway M. This facility provides access to this river with a boat launch. It also
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has parking for 25 vehicles and a small picnic area. This park also offers opportunities for shore fishing. The CE Trail is approximately 5.3 miles in length and has been recently completed along the north side of highway CE, between highways 441 and Loderbauer Road. This trail is intended to be the first of many trail/greenway segments that will eventually span the County and region. Koepke Access is located three miles north of Shiocton along the Wolf River. This 5.5 acre site contains a boat launch, parking for 60 vehicles and a small picnic area. Shore fishing opportunities are available at this facility. Roughly half the site is heavily wooded and it abuts the Outagamie State Wildlife Area. Mosquito Hill Nature Center is located on 428 acres east of the City of New London. This is the largest recreational facility owned by Outagamie County. The main building houses a small gift shop and numerous hands-on wildlife exhibits. It also hosts regular seminars and demonstrations on wildlife, travel and the environment. An extensive system of trails provides visitors with access to a large portion of this facility. This site also provides significant habitat for wildlife. A recent addition to Mosquito Hill was a Butterfly House. In the short time that it has been available it has been a major visitor attraction. There is parking for approximately 60 vehicles. A pre-glacial remnant exists on this land making it a resource for geological study. The Pet Exercise Area encompasses approximately ten acres of land at the northeast corner of Highway OO and French Road. This unique facility offers a fenced area for the purpose of providing room for household pets to run. Situated on excess landfill property, the park is very popular and is being used by both resident and non-resident pet owners. Plamann Park, located just north of Appleton, is the county's heaviest used recreational facility. Situated on 258 acres of land, this park contains a manmade swimming lake with a shelter and changing facilities, baseball and softball diamonds, volleyball courts, tennis courts, 1.5 mile fitness trail, ice skating, sledding and a multi-purpose pavilion. Parking, picnic areas, shelters and restrooms are spread throughout the park. Cross-country ski trails, disk golf courses and a children's farm are also available. Nearly one- half of the park is maintained as open space. The Wiouwash Recreation Trail is located between the Village of Hortonville and the City of Oshkosh, in Winnebago
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County. The trail extends a total of 19 miles, six of which are within Outagamie County. The trail accommodates snowmobiles in the winter and horseback riding, biking and jogging in the summer. A 5.5 acre parcel at the northern end near Hortonville provides access. This access site contains a small picnic area and parking. There is another small picnic area just south of Spring Road. A second access site is located in Medina adjacent to Highway 96. Long range planning has this trail extending north through Waupaca and Shawano counties, which would be one of the longest trails in Wisconsin when completed. Stephensville Access is located approximately one mile west of the unincorporated community of Stephensville. The site is along the Wolf River, adjacent to Highway S. This access was recently expanded. In the past, it consisted of three acres along the north side of Highway S. A recent addition provides one acre along the south side of the highway. This site provides a boat launch, a picnic area and parking for 10 vehicles with trailers. Shore fishing opportunities also exist. View Ridge Park is located on 36 acres east of the City of New London, a short distance to the northeast from Mosquito Hill. This park was formerly utilized as a downhill ski facility and had then been inactive for a number of years. This site is currently available for overnight camping for non- profit groups and organizations, such as the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. It is also available to groups in connection with Mosquito Hill Nature Center. The park lacks restrooms, water and electricity. The Wolf River Nature Area is one of the newest additions to the county park system. Encompassing 24 acres of land within the Village of Shiocton along the Wolf River, the parcel was purchased in 1999. The site is heavily wooded and no immediate plans are in place for the development of the site. Local schools use the site for outdoor education and nature study.
The most recent addition to the County’s recreational resources is the former railroad bed that runs between Seymour and New London. The property was acquired by the state in 2003 from the Canadian National Railroad following abandonment. The state, in turn, transferred ownership to the county in 2004 as a part of the state trails network. The trail is 22.8 miles long and encompasses approximately 275 acres. It includes land located within the Town of Seymour (2.6 mi.), the City of Seymour (1.6 mi.), the Town of Cicero (.3 mi.), the Town of Black Creek (5.3 mi.), the Village of
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Black Creek (1.1 mi.), the Town of Bovina 5.0 mi.), the Village of Shiocton (1.3 mi.) and the Town of Liberty (5.4 mi.). The mileage segments do not add up to the total due to rounding. The facility is undeveloped at this time. The county added to sites to their park inventory in 2007. The first is a wooded area (24 acres) between the county’s Brewster Street campus and Fox Valley Technical College and the second is a wooded area (38 acres) immediately north of Fox Cities Stadium. Both sites will be developed as passive recreation areas in the future.
Outagamie County has a total of 16,265.5 acres of existing park and recreational land with the vast majority of that total owned and maintained by the State of Wisconsin. Privately owned facilities, primarily golf courses, account for the second largest share of the County's total recreational facilities.
(Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008)
Future Development
The Outagamie County Planning Department has the responsibility of coordinating the economic development activities for the county and it participates with three organizations that have been formed to promote the economic opportunities in the area. One organization, Fox Cities Economic Development Partnership (FCEDP), covers the Fox Cities portion of Outagamie County, while the Greater Outagamie County Economic Development Corporation (GOCEDC), covers the remainder of Outagamie County located outside the Fox Cities area. Outagamie County is also a partner with 15 other counties and one Indian Nation in the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership (NEWREP). NEWREP was formed in response to a state initiative to form "Technology Zones" across Wisconsin. This partnership was awarded the technology zone status on June 28, 2002. However, NEWREP will work together on a regional economic strategy beyond the technology zone.
(http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/planning/Programs/EconomicDevel opment.html)
The Outagamie County Capital Improvements Program document (rev. October 1, 2009), details the county’s proposed capital improvement projects for the years 2010 – 2014. Pages 33-92 of the document outline the mostly bridge and culvert projects and can be found at the following website address:
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http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/finance/2010%20CIP/2010%20CIP. pdf
City of Appleton major projects under consideration for the near future include: Eagle Flats: Construction costs for the 1st phase (2011) are estimated at $27 million and will contain: o 70 unit elderly o 54 unit o 68 unit o 28000 sq ft commercial Phase 2 estimated at $13 million will start in 2016-2017 Foremost Site - PHP Development: Eight single family homes estimated value $8 million. (2011) Southpoint Commerce Park: This industrial/business park contains 360 acres. Currently there are 100 acres ready for development and an additional 140 acres unimproved. River Heath:
Other potential large-scale development projects (greater than 15 lots) in the near future include: Kaukauna Dog Track Area - redevelopment into commercial subdivision Grandview Terrace Subdivision, Town of Ellington - proposed 80-lot residential subdivision Sandy Ridge Subdivision, Town of Ellington - proposed 50-lot residential subdivision
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Town of Buchanan (2013-2015): o 3 lane round-about at Hwy CE and Eisenhower o 2 lane round-about Eisenhower and VanRoy
Vegetation
Throughout Outagamie County, mostly maple, hemlock and yellow birch are present. In the south and central parts of the county, sugar maple, basswood and elm are found. In the northwest and north-central parts of the county black cedar, tamarack and cedar are present. Along Wolf and Embarrass Rivers: willow, soft maple and ash are present. The southeast corner of the county is an oak savanna.
(http://www.wisconline.com/counties/Outagamie/index.html)
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Demographics
Human Settlement Patterns
The first evidence of human settlement in the Mississippi River Region was approximately 11,000 years ago, following closely the withdrawal of the Wisconsin glacier. These earliest known “Paleo- Indians” were hunter-gatherers that traveled in small nomadic family groups. This Ice Age era was known geologically as the Pleistocene period.
Between 1670 and 1680, the first Europeans to visit this land were the French traders to establish trading and military posts in the name of France, and the Jesuits to bring Christianity to the native inhabitants. Because the French made no definite settlement of the territory they yielded their rights to the English in 1761, who claimed possession until after the Revolutionary War. By the Treaty of 1835, the Indian tribes gave up their homeland and were moved to the country west of the Mississippi.
Outagamie County was created in 1851 by separation from Brown County. Outagamie County, covering 640 square miles, is located in east-central Wisconsin along the Fox River near the northern end of Lake Winnebago. The region was once the hunting and fishing grounds for several Native American tribes including the Menominee, Outagamie and Winnebago. The name Outagamie is derived from a Native American word meaning "dwellers on either shore" or "dwellers on the other side of the stream."
In 1634 French explorer Jean Nicolet was the first European to the area, soon followed by French fur traders. One of these traders, Charles Grignon, built his mansion in the woods in 1837 and it is the oldest home in Outagamie County. Other ethnic groups settling here include Dutch, German, Polish, Irish and more recently Hmong and Laotian. The original French fur traders nicknamed the Outagamie tribe "les renards" meaning foxes. Hence the name for the Fox River and the term Fox Cities for the 14 interconnected communities along the Fox River-Lake Winnebago waterway.
(http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/home/about/overview.html)
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Population
In 1990, the county was home to 140,510 people; in 2000, there were 160,971 and according to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, there were 174,993 people residing in Outagamie County.
According to the 2000 U.S. census report, there are 60,530 households in Outagamie County with an average of 2.61 people per household. This is an increase of 10,003 households over the 1990 census when 50,527 households were reported. The 1999 U.S. census numbers indicate that the median household income is $49,613 and that the per capita income is $21,943. Approximately 4.7% of the people live below the poverty line. The 2000 census also indicated that there are approximately 62,614 housing units within the county.
The population of Outagamie County rose from 140,510 to 160,971 between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. This is an increase of 20,461 people—a population growth rate of almost 15%.
Percent Change Per Age Category Between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses
40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% -5.0% <5 5 - 24 25 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 - 74 75 - 84 >84
According to the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the overwhelming majority of people in Outagamie County reported that they were white. People of Hispanic or Latino origin were counted as a subcategory of those reporting that they were white and totaled 2.8% of the population. An additional 2.4% of the county population (compared to 2.0% of the state population) reports being of Asian descent with the majority of these being Hmong. A large portion of the Oneida Indian Reservation is located in the northeast portion of Outagamie County and extends into Brown County to the east.
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Race
White 2.8% Black American Indian 91.3% 8.7% 1.0% 2.4% Asian 0.9% Hispanic 1.6% Tw o or More Races
Other miscellaneous demographic information reported by the census bureau is detailed below. These figures identify potential needs for special consideration in a disaster response or in recovery operation planning and implementation.
60.0% 50.1%
37.8% 40.0% 30.4% 22.5% 20.0% 10.9% 11.6% 6.9% 6.0% 3.1% 0.0%
d d d l orn ds ree o ol b me a o eg n Gr D ears Female g years y years ol ei e Disabled r hool g <5 Fo c lle 64 S < 18 > h Co English at hg o i N H
Outagamie County contains the Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna, New London and Seymour; the Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Howard, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols, Shiocton and Wrightstown and the Towns of Black Creek, Bovina, Buchanan, Center, Cicero, Dale, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and Vandenbroek. Population growth estimates for these municipalities follows:
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Transportation Network
Outagamie County has a good transportation network. Outagamie County currently has 1,905 miles of roads and highways, according to the 2003-2004 Wisconsin Blue Book. Of that total, 195 miles are part of the State Trunk System and 346 miles are within the County Trunk System while the remaining mileage consists of the local street system.
USH 41 runs around the Fox Cities and connects this area to Green Bay to the northeast and Oshkosh to the southwest. USH 45 runs north along the east part of the county and connects to STH 15 which passes through Hortonville and connects to USH 41. STH 47 runs north-south and connects Appleton to Black Creek. STH 55 runs north-south and connects Kaukauna to Seymour. Outagamie County has maintained these roads along with others to provide a safe and efficient transportation system. With continued
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maintenance, these roads will continue to serve the population effectively.
The City of Appleton operates Valley Transit within the Fox Cities urbanized area of Outagamie County. The system consists of regular fixed route service as well as a paratransit service for the elderly and disabled. The system also includes one Call-A-Ride zone (Town of Buchanan urban area), which connects passengers to the fixed route system via shared ride taxi service. Regular bus service is also provided between Neenah and Oshkosh.
Greyhound Bus provides transportation across the country and has a full-service terminal in Appleton located at 100 E. Washington Street. This location offers both Greyhound Package Express service as well as charter service. The City of New London is served by limited schedule bus stop, which as a rule provides no ticketing, baggage or package express service.
The Outagamie County Regional Airport, designated by airport code ATW, consists of approximately 2.5 square miles of land, which is split by two intersecting runways. The existing airport facilities are located west of Appleton at the end of County Highway CA. The terminal went through an extensive remodeling and expansion in 2002, which resulted in a new seven-gate concourse with jetways. The airport is served by four airlines: Allegiant, Delta, Midwest/Frontier and United Airlines. It is the fourth largest airport in Wisconsin, handling over 572,000 passengers in 2006 and 10 million pounds of freight annually (Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008).
Public Safety Support
Medical
There are currently three hospitals located within Outagamie County: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (Appleton), Appleton Medical Center and New London Family Medical Center. These three facilities have a total of 388 beds available and staffed, most of which is located in Appleton (90%). The hospital information was obtained from 2002 reports on file with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. There are an additional 214 beds available in Neenah, 25 in Waupaca, 46 in Shawano and 584 in Green Bay.
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Six ambulance service providers cover the county with Gold Cross serving the largest area and largest population. Outagamie County has 289 medical doctors serving the county’s residents according to a 2000 survey by the Bureau of Health Information.
Black Creek Rescue Service - License Level: EMT- Intermediate Technician Kaukauna Fire Department Ambulance Service - License Level: EMT-Paramedic New London Family Medical Center Ambulance - License Level: EMT-Paramedic Seymour Rescue Squad - License Level: EMT- Intermediate Technician Shiocton-Bovina Fire Department - License Level: EMT- Intermediate Technician County Rescue (Brown County) - Paramedic
There are ten nursing homes operating within the county with capacity of 1,040 licensed beds according to 2004 data on file with the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. Those homes had an average daily census was 950 people. In addition to the county operated Brewster Village, there are four facilities operated by private companies, four by non-profits and one operated by the Oneida Tribe. Six of the facilities are located in the Appleton area while the remaining four are in Little Chute, Kaukauna, Oneida and Seymour.
Other facilities that are aimed at meeting the needs of the county’s older population include assisted living facilities, independent living developments, retirement communities, elder care and activity centers, to name a few. As the population of the county continues to grow and grow older, it can reasonably be expected that the demand for these facilities will continue to grow.
Each of these departments provides monthly training to their staff and they participate in periodically scheduled disaster exercises with area hospitals, other emergency medical services, law enforcement, fire services and emergency management.
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Fire Service
Fire and rescue operations are generally handled at the local level of government. There are 25 local fire departments many of which offer supporting EMS services. Seven of these local departments cover areas in multiple jurisdictions. Most communities are involved in mutual aid, automatic aid and MABAS agreements with neighboring communities to provide backup and assistance.
Law Enforcement
Outagamie County provides a full range of services through its Sheriff’s Department, including a county jail, Huber facility, 911 emergency dispatch and boat and snow patrols. The Sheriff provides full law enforcement services to those portions of the county that do not have their own enforcement officials. The communities of Appleton, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kaukauna, New London, Shiocton, Seymour, the Oneida Nation and Wrightstown provide their own police services. The communities of Little Chute and Kimberly have a joint police service – Fox Valley Metro Police. The Towns of Freedom and Grand Chute also have local police services. Bear Creek, Buchanan and Greenville provide their police services through contracts for staff through the County Sheriff.
Emergency Management
Outagamie County Emergency Management coordinates effective response and recovery efforts due to natural and technological disasters and supports the local communities and the citizens within Outagamie County. Through planning, training and exercising, we prepare our citizens and our response personnel to help minimize the loss of lives and property. This office provides countywide coverage, working closely with the Sheriff’s Department. What we do:
Maintain the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Outagamie County Provide assistance for emergency response to emergencies and disasters Develop and update emergency plans for all hazards impacting our community Provide liaison with local, state and federal authorities during emergencies and disasters
Page 39 Demographics
Develop, coordinate and conduct emergency management training/exercise programs Develop and distribute emergency management presentations, brochures, pamphlets, public service announcements and other relevant information for civic organizations, businesses and the public.
Archaeological and Historical Resources
The Wisconsin Historical Society has a listing of archaeological sites that have been identified in Outagamie County; this list is available to governmental agencies upon request. The National Register of Historic Places also includes a listing of 46 locations in Outagamie County. As mitigation projects are considered, the county is committed to ensuring that archaeological and historical sites are preserved.
Historic Sites
Historic Site Name Street Address Municipality Appleton City Park District Franklin St. Vicinity Appleton Appleton Wire Works 600 S. Atlantic St. Appleton College Avenue District Downtown Appleton Appleton Courtney Woolen Mill 301 E. Water St. Appleton Fox River Paper Co. Dist. Map Available Appleton Hearthstone 625 W. Prospect Appleton Lakeshore Depot 725 S. Oneida St. Appleton Lock 1-3 District Fox River-Oneida Appleton Lock 4 Historic District Fox River-John St. Appleton Main Hall, Lawrence Univ. 400-500 E. College Appleton Masonic Temple 330 E. College Appleton Schuetter, Henry House 330 W. Sixth St. Appleton Temple Zion and School 320 N. Durkee St. Appleton Tompkins, James, House 523 S. State St. Appleton Volksfreund Building 200 E. College Ave. Appleton Washington School 818 W. Loraine St. Appleton West Prospect Ave. District Prospect Avenue Appleton Whorton, John Hart, House 315 W. Prospect Appleton Zion Lutheran Church 912 N. Oneida St. Appleton Peters, George, House 305 N. Maple St. Black Creek Barteau Bridge T23N-R16E Sec 21 Bovina Rapid Croche Lock/Dam Fox River-Co. line Buchanan Greenville State Bank 252 Municipal Dr. Greenville Kronser, Hotel & Saloon 246 Municipal Dr. Greenville Community Hall 312 W. Main Street Hortonville
Page 40 Demographics
Historic Sites
Historic Site Name Street Address Municipality Black, Merritt, House 104 River Road Kaukauna Brokaw, Norman, House 714 Grignon Street Kaukauna Fargo's Furniture Store 172-176 W. Wisc. Kaukauna Free Public Library 111 Main Avenue Kaukauna Grignon House Augustine Street Kaukauna Holy Cross Church 309 Desnoyer St. Kaukauna Kaukauna Locks District Fox River Kaukauna Klein Dairy Farmhouse 1018 Sullivan Ave. Kaukauna Kuehn Blacksmith/Hardware 148-152 E. Second Kaukauna Lindauer & Rupert Block 137-141 E. Second Kaukauna Martens, Julius J., Co. 124-128 E. Third Kaukauna Meade, Captain, House 309 Division St. Kaukauna Nicolet Public School 109 E. 8th Street Kaukauna Osprey Site Address Restricted Kaukauna St. Andrews, House 320 Dixon Street Kaukauna St. Mary's Catholic Church 119 W. 7th Street Kaukauna Stribley House 705 W. Wisconsin Kaukauna U.S. Post Office 112 Main Avenue Kaukauna Geenen Residence 416 N. Sidney St. Kimberly Cedar Lock/Dam District 4527 E. Wisc. Rd. Little Chute
All of these sites have been reported to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and are protected sites. If there is concern that a mitigation project will impact one of these or any other identified or suspected archeological site, the county will work with the proper authorities to ensure that all applicable laws and regulations are followed.
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Hazard Analysis and Previous Mitigation Projects
The following sections identify those hazards that have occurred or could occur in Outagamie County. Each includes a description of a hazard and its frequency of occurrence. Also included is a section that describes the general vulnerabilities of the community and its infrastructure to each particular type of hazard. More detailed and specific analyses will be conducted as projects are identified for inclusion in grant applications. As part of the application process, the methodology of data collection and future development patterns will be addressed. Estimates of potential dollar losses and the methodology used to arrive at those estimates will also be described during this application process.
Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) completed and regularly updates the State Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was last revised in 2008. This plan describes the hazards that have occurred or are most likely to occur within the state and includes the frequency of occurrence, potential impacts and suggested actions to mitigate the hazard. This plan is the basis for the development of all emergency management plans and is distributed upon revision to county emergency government directors and other stakeholder agencies.
The Outagamie County Emergency Management Director develops and annually updates a listing of all hazards that have occurred or could occur within the county. This listing includes the definition, frequency of occurrence and actions to mitigate the hazard. In general, the threat of most hazards is consistent throughout the county. The only hazard where there were differences identified within the county was for flooding and for that hazard, specific locations are identified.
The emphasis in the following sections is on mitigation activities for each hazard as a major component of overall emergency management. Mitigation or prevention activities reduce the degree of long-term risk to human life and property from natural and man- made hazards. The cooperation of government, academia, the private sector and volunteer agencies is essential in mitigation efforts. Outagamie County Emergency Management is committed to working with municipalities and the private sector to ensure that
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county mitigation information is shared and it is incorporated into their planning as appropriate.
Each community will be given a copy of the plan to use as a reference during their own preparedness activities (i.e., planning, training, permitting, zoning). Communities that have their own comprehensive plan will reference this mitigation plan and its contents in the next scheduled plan update. Municipalities that do not have comprehensive plans either are under the purview of and request assistance from the Outagamie County Planning Department or have their own planning departments. Members of the County Planning Department and municipal departments were included on the Hazard Mitigation Workgroup and are aware of the benefits and requirements to utilizing this plan as they go about their preparedness activities.
Outagamie County and its municipalities have a history of identifying, planning and completing hazard mitigation projects including these, which received supplemental funding:
Pre-Disaster Program
Outagamie County (2007C) - All-Hazards Mitigation Plan. $95,720.
Community Development Block Grant – Community Facilities
City of Appleton (FY94-0075). Relocate main sewer and stabilize slope to prevent mudslide in Allicia Park.
WI Department of Natural Resources – Municipal Flood Control
City of Appleton (MFC-08201-08) – Northland Creek Floodplain Lowering and Channel Restoration
Page 43 All Hazards
All Hazards
One of the bedrock principles of emergency management is to approach issues from an all-hazards perspective. This is generally very cost effective because it accomplishes preparedness and/or mitigation goals for many types of disasters with one resource. Some of the all hazards mitigation projects that Outagamie County would like to accomplish are detailed in the following sections.
The planning committee also used the all hazards approach to identify mitigation goals for the county and all of its municipalities. The purpose hazard mitigation plan is to identify hazard areas, to assess the risks, to analyze the potential for mitigation and to recommend mitigation strategies where appropriate. Potential mitigation projects will be reviewed using criteria that stress the intrinsic value of the increased safety for people and property in relation to the monetary costs to achieve this (i.e., a cost-benefit analysis). With that in mind, the overall planning goals for the entire plan, as listed by the mitigation planning committee were:
o Objective 1: To preserve life and minimize the potential for injuries or death. o Objective 2: To preserve and enhance the quality of life throughout Outagamie County by identifying potential property damage risks and recommending appropriate mitigation strategies to minimize potential property damage. o Objective 3: To promote countywide planning that avoids transferring the risk from one community to an adjacent community, where appropriate. o Objective 4: To identify potential funding sources for mitigation projects and form the basis for FEMA project grant applications.
Vulnerability
Perhaps the largest risk that falls under the all-hazards banner is that fact that several of the municipalities and private emergency response partners (e.g., hospitals, schools, bus companies) have part or all of their communications networks on different bands (i.e., VHF, 700 MHz and 800 MHz). Also of concern was creating and upgrading the ability to data share among field responders and within emergency facilities (e.g., ICPs, EOCs). Because somw of these departments can not communicate with each other, they
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would not be effectively coordinated in a disaster, potentially delaying critical services to citizens in need.
Other vulnerabilities noticed by the mitigation workgroup included communications systems to provide emergency notification to the public to include an updated reverse notification systems, NOAA weather radios, the 211 telephone hotline and sirens, particularly in recreational areas.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
Outagamie County and its municipalities have aggressively sought out grants and partnerships to reduce the significant costs to improving their core communication networks but much of the technology upgrade has been from county and municipal budgetary expenditures.
In this plan, many of the non-core communications projects that are listed here are either not capital improvement projects and therefore are not very expensive (e.g., upgrading MOUs, updating the website) or they are projects that require significant capital outlays and are, for the most part, grant-dependent. Since the profile (e.g., economic, geographic) of an area may change between the identification of a project in this plan and the availability of grant funds, projects will be identified within the plan and be slated for detailed study and analysis at such time as grants become available. The detailed study will identify the types and numbers of existing and future structures, the potential dollar losses to vulnerable structures and the lead agency or department who will manage the project. At that point, grant-eligible projects will be evaluated using the appropriate grant criteria for factors such as:
Overall benefit to the community
Economic feasibility (i.e., a cost-benefit analysis)
Compliance with environmental, social justice and other laws
The hazard mitigation strategies listed below are generally not “bricks and mortar” changes. Rather, they are enhancements to computer and radio equipment and plans that allow better communication with the public in times of crisis and therefore do not reduce effects for existing or future buildings and infrastructure.
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Public Alert and Notification
Public alert and notification plans are vital in a time of crisis to reduce property damage and human casualties. An advance plan allows the appropriate authorities to perform their emergency duties in an efficient manner. Outagamie County will maintain the following:
Facilities, systems and procedures to activate warning and communication capabilities,
Systems to support communications, including:
o Sirens to warn the public. 44 sirens already exist in the county, with five owned by New London but they are activated by the county. Three new sirens were installed in 2010 and the existing sirens and computer system were upgraded. The county can only activate all sirens in the county and would like to be able to be more selective so that they can do a polygon selection based on National Weather Service storm area.
o Telephone and radio to notify and activate internal personnel.
o A reverse notification system to alert the public via telephone (i.e., landline or cellular). The county currently uses the City Watch program but it is no longer cost effective. They will seek out a new vendor with a transition date hopefully in 2011. The new system will text message, allow citizens to register their home and cell phones and have better mapping and user interface for dispatch.
o Local television, radio and newspaper contacts to spread warning information.
o A “hotline” capability for concerned people to call and receive approved public information messages from an operator. To accomplish this, the county is working with the 211 system to develop procedures to release approved emergency public information. The county Human Services Department also staffs a 24-hour crisis hotline.
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o Local law enforcement, fire and rescue communications.
Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communications Center to receive and distribute warning information to the public and emergency response agencies.
The county website now lists emergency-related information and is being accessed by the public for crisis communications.
During an emergency, the general public receives information by sirens, NOAA weather radio, local broadcast or printed media, door-to-door notification by emergency services personnel and a mobile public address system. It should be noted that the ability to use the NOAA weather radio system for an expanded list of emergency messages is a positive move that makes this alert and warning tool even more valuable. As a result, Outagamie County will continue to promote increased use of these radios among the public during spring and summer information campaigns. The county and some municipalities also resell the radios to interested residents.
Methods for notification of the special needs populations include door-to-door warnings, foreign language media messages and closed-caption television messages. Other notices and procedures can be found in the Outagamie County Emergency Response Plan, which is reviewed and updated on a regular schedule.
With the above-mentioned program projects, Outagamie County and its municipal partners should be capable of the following:
Disseminate emergency warning and notification to the public though its county-wide warning systems,
Support emergency management operations,
Provide adequate warning and communication systems, and
Plan for alternative means and resources in the event of a warning or communication system breakdown.
Outagamie County and its municipalities have committed to preparing their facilities, systems and procedures to activate warning and communication. During an emergency, these systems
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will deliver prompt and accurate warnings to businesses and residents.
Interoperable Communications
The county budget to maintain communications systems has thus far been sufficient and as technology improves and additional interoperability grant funding is made available, the County Emergency Management and Sheriff’s Office will monitor and improve the system as able. Outagamie County and its municipalities have recognized the need to improve interoperable communications between municipalities and the county by:
Continuing to improve the county radio system by:
o Upgrading from VHF to 700 MHz for voice communications. o Upgrading the VHF system for paging. o Upgrading the 800 MHz system for data services to increase speed. o Continue working on a regional field interoperability plan for daily and disaster operations. o Upgrading the siren radios to be compliant with narrow-band requirements. Currently, siren radios are VHF and need to be upgraded to 700 MHz.
It is expected that this primarily self-funded, three-year project will cost $16,000,000 for Outagamie County and its municipalities out of a total of approximately $43 Million for all of the communities participating (Outagamie, Winnebago and Calumet Counties). The project will upgrade radio systems for all three counties plus the municipal fire and police departments and should be completed in 2013. Another benefit of the project is that it will provide better links between the Winnebago and Outagamie County 911 Dispatch Centers. A County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate and facilitate emergency communications and operations among stakeholders. The County plans to upgrade County EOC to include a new EOC manual and a projector. Many of the county’s municipalities also have EOCs and the Cities of Appleton and Kaukauna are planning major upgrades to their facilities in the near future. Countywide, Emergency Management is also planning to work with the municipalities to create an interoperability plan
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between the municipal and county EOCs to ensure that the links are solid and that they stay that way over time and technological change.
The City of Appleton also has several communication and data projects proposed including:
o Complete a remote data backup and create a “warm” site. This will help provide infrastructure protection for data services including the update iSeries AS400 system. o Provide remote access to city systems through Virtual Private Network (VPN). o Create wireless access to city systems via mesh network, including remote camera setups to connect to a command post or EOC. The initial pilot of this project cost $200,000 (including a city portion of $80,000) and its expansion through the city and into rural areas is expected to cost approximately $2 Million. o Establish Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) failover. o Establish a video conferencing system to allow for real- time remote meetings. o Complete the Appleton Area Metropolitan Fiber Optic Network (AAMFON) to provide fiber connectivity for and between 50 locations serving five jurisdictions. This system, which is continually expanding throughout the community, can be used to help support the emergency communications and messaging projects such as allowing hazard messages to be projected to electronic bulletin board signs during bad weather at areas of concern.
Website
Geographic information system (GIS) mapping data is available from the Outagamie County website. The County Emergency Management Office also has a general webpage at www.cocemready.org and has, in past disasters, been able to post links to disaster-specific information from FEMA, to volunteers, etc. In recognition of the importance of this communication tool, especially in pre-planning activities, county offices will review their web pages to ensure that important information and links for general preparedness topics are available from agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, the American Red Cross and Wisconsin Emergency Management.
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Community Partner Organizations
Outagamie County works with a local Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) group that represents the major volunteer resources available. The county VOAD chapter is four years old and has active members from the American Red Cross and the ARES amateur radio group, among others. Outagamie County, through the Emergency Management Office, will support the education and recruitment of volunteer disaster responders.
Outagamie County and its municipal organizations will also review their Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and/or contingency contracts with community partners that might be called upon during a disaster including mutual aid agencies, volunteer organizations and private companies to ensure that the MOUs are current and that contact information and capabilities are correct and available in the appropriate plans. Outagamie County would also like to bid-out a competitive contract for a contract company to be available for doing a post-disaster flyover for orthophotos for GIS.
Page 50 Drought and Dust Storms
Drought and Dust Storms
Two types of drought occur in Wisconsin: agricultural and hydrologic. Agricultural drought is a dry period that reduces crop yields. Hydrologic drought is a dry period of sufficient length and intensity to affect lake and stream levels and the height of the groundwater table. These two types of drought may, but do not necessarily, occur together.
Dust storms result from a combination of high winds and dry, loose soil conditions. While high winds and periods of drought have each occurred in Outagamie County, there has never been a recorded dust storm event. Since natural hazards that have occurred in the past are more likely to occur in the future, it is unlikely that a dust storm event will occur in Outagamie County. This assertion is further bolstered by the fact that there is very little irrigation done within the county and that the soils in Outagamie County are not prone to blowing. While there are concerns about topsoil erosion and some mitigation activities may be planned that would reduce the effects of these types of events, they will not be a major focus of this plan.
Physical Characteristics
The understanding that a deficit of precipitation has different impacts on groundwater, reservoir storage, soil moisture, snowpack and streamflow led to the development of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) in 1993. The SPI quantifies the precipitation deficit for multiple time scales. These time scales reflect the impact of drought on the availability of the different water resources. Soil moisture conditions respond to precipitation anomalies on a relatively short scale. Groundwater, streamflow, and reservoir storage reflect longer-term precipitation anomalies. For these reasons, the SPI is calculated for 3-, 6-, 12-, 24- and 48-month time scales.
The SPI calculation for any location is based on the long-term precipitation record for a desired period. This long-term record is fitted to a probability distribution, which is then transformed into a normal distribution so that the mean SPI for the location and desired period is zero. Positive SPI values indicate greater than median precipitation and negative values indicate less than median precipitation. Because the SPI is normalized, wetter and drier
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climates can be represented in the same way and wet periods can also be monitored using the SPI.
The classification system shown in the SPI values table (below) defines drought intensities resulting from the SPI. The criteria for a drought event are also defined for any of the time scales. A drought event occurs any time the SPI is continuously negative and reaches an intensity of -1.0 or less. The event ends when the SPI becomes positive. Each drought event, therefore, has a duration defined by its beginning and end and an intensity for each month that the event continues. The positive sum of the SPI for all the months within a drought event can be termed the drought’s “magnitude.” Current SPI maps for the United States can be found at http://www.drought.unl.edu/monitor/spi.htm.
SPI Values 2.0+ Extremely wet 1.5 to 1.99 Very wet 1.0 to 1.49 Moderately wet -0.99 to 0.99 Near normal -1.0 to 1.49 Moderately dry -1.5 to -1.99 Severely dry -2.0 and less Extremely dry http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/indices.htm#spi
The Palmer Index is an older scale and is used more often by governmental organizations. It is effective in determining long-term drought (i.e., over several months) and is not as good with short- term forecasts (i.e., weeks.) It uses a zero as normal; drought is shown in terms of negative numbers and excess moisture is reflected by positive figures. The future incidence of drought is highly unpredictable and may also be localized, making it difficult to determine probability with any accuracy.
Drought conditions may vary from below-normal precipitation for a few weeks to a severe lack of normal precipitation for several months. Drought primarily affects agricultural areas because the amount and timing of rainfall has a significant impact on crop production. The severity of a drought cannot therefore be completely measured in terms of precipitation alone but must include crop yields.
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Frequency of Occurrence
Drought is a relatively common phenomenon in Wisconsin and has occurred statewide in 1895, 1910, 1939, 1948, 1958, 1976, 1988, 1992, 2003 and 2005. The 1976 drought received a Presidential Emergency Declaration with damage to 64 Wisconsin counties, including Outagamie. Estimated losses of $624 million primarily affected the agricultural sector. Reports show that Outagamie County was as affected as the rest of the state in this drought, receiving money for emergency feed programs for livestock and for increased fire protection of its wilderness areas. It should be noted that only 19% ($119,434,924) of this loss was compensated by any federal program.
The Palmer Index chart for the years between January, 1895 and 5 January 2010 in East Central Wisconsin, which includes Outagamie County follows:
http://www.aos.wisc.edu/~sco/clim-watch/graphics/pdsi-ts-06-l.gif
On July 15, 2005, the Governor declared a drought emergency for the entire state of Wisconsin. This declaration, the first since August 2003, allowed farmers access to additional water for crop irrigation. The National Weather Service has 5 recorded drought events for Outagamie County between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010:
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Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses 03/01/1999 Outagamie Co Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 07/19/2005 Outagamie Co Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 08/01/2005 Outagamie Co Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 02/10/2009 Outagamie Co Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 03/01/2009 Outagamie Co Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0
http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms
The county has not experienced any dust storms since 1950. Considering past occurrences, it can be surmised that Outagamie County has a medium probability of drought occurrence in the future and the likelihood of damage due to drought is considered medium for agricultural losses and low for other types of losses. The probability of dust storm and damages due to dust storms would be very low.
Vulnerability
Droughts and dust storms could impact Outagamie County disproportionately because slightly more than 50% of the land area is used for agricultural activities. Drought generally impacts farm output by reducing crop yields and the health and product output (e.g., milk) of livestock. As a result, a drought will seriously impact the economy of the entire county. Dust storms impact farms in the long term by blowing away the top levels of soil, which are the richest. This could economically impact the county by reducing its long-term viability for farming. Drought is also a major risk factor for wildfire.
Drought can reduce the amount of surface water available for recreational activities (e.g., boating, fishing, water skiing) and for wildlife. This is important because, for example, low water levels can lead to an outbreak of disease (e.g., botulism) in migratory bird pools.
Prolonged drought can also impact the groundwater reserves. This can reduce the ability of the municipal water services and rural individuals on wells to draw adequate fresh water. This may especially impact rural homeowners who tend to have wells that are not drilled as deeply as municipal wells. In Outagamie County, the population that lives outside of the cities and villages are generally on well water. There could also be a safety risk during dust storms if they are severe enough to reduce the visibility of the roadways for drivers.
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Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of drought and dust storm mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events.
Some Outagamie County communities have adopted water usage regulations during drought conditions but in general, mitigation strategies for periods of drought include preparing informational releases and plans for farmers and homeowners that can be used if needed.
Outagamie County farmers can contact the Outagamie County University of Wisconsin Extension Office and the local offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for information and guidance related to drought and dust storms. Various federal and state publications are available regarding ground water movement, the hydrologic cycle, irrigation methods and topsoil conservation. These agencies are also the lead agencies for obtaining emergency food and water supplies for agricultural use and for providing information regarding crop insurance.
Municipalities and the county will work together to ensure that drought considerations are included in emergency plans and will provide emergency information to homeowners as needed.
The hazard mitigation strategies listed above primarily involve providing information on water conservation measures and crop insurance to farmers and the public. Water conservation will ensure that the resource is available for critical residential, business and agricultural uses (drinking, food irrigation, manufacturing, firefighting) and good farming practices may help prevent erosion of the rich topsoil found in Outagamie County. Since drought and dust storms are not hazards that affect buildings or traditional infrastructure (e.g., bridges, culverts) these strategies did not need to be designed to reduce damages to existing or future buildings and infrastructure.
Page 55 Earthquakes
Earthquakes
An earthquake is a shaking or sometimes violent trembling of the earth which results from the sudden shifting of rock beneath the earth’s crust. This sudden shifting releases energy in the form of seismic waves (wave-like movement of the earth’s surface.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/earthquake_guide.pdf
Physical Characteristics
Earthquakes can strike without warning and may range in intensity from slight tremors to great shocks. They can last from a few seconds to over five minutes and they may also occur as a series of tremors over a period of several days. The actual movement of the ground during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of injury or death. Casualties usually result from falling objects and debris because the shocks have shaken, damaged or demolished buildings and other structures. Movement may trigger fires, dam failures, landslides or releases of hazardous materials that compound an earthquake’s disastrous effect.
Earthquakes are measured by two principle methods: seismographs and human judgment. The seismograph measures the magnitude of an earthquake and interprets the amount of energy released on the Richter Scale, a logarithmic scale with no upper limit. For example, an earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale is ten times more powerful than a 5.0 and 100 times more powerful than a 4.0. This is a measure of the absolute size or strength of an earthquake and does not consider the effect at any specific location. The Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale
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measures the strength of a shock at a particular location (i.e., intensity.)
A third less often used way of measuring an earthquake’s severity involves comparing its acceleration to the normal acceleration caused by the force of gravity. The acceleration due to gravity, often noted “g,” is equal to 9.8 meters per second. Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) measures the rate of change of motion relative to the rate of acceleration due to gravity and is expressed as a percentage. These three scales can be roughly correlated, as expressed in the table that follows:
Earthquake PGA, Magnitude and Intensity Comparison Table PGA Magnitude Intensity Description [MMI] [ %g] [Richter] [MMI] <0.17 1.0 - 3.0 I I. Not felt except by a very few under especially favorable conditions. 0.17 - 1.4 3.0 - 3.9 II - III II. Felt only by a few persons at rest, especially on upper floors of buildings. III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck. Duration estimated. 1.4 - 9.2 4.0 - 4.9 IV - V IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing cars rock noticeably. V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes, windows broken. Unstable objects overturned. Pendulum clocks may stop. 9.2 - 34 5.0 - 5.9 VI - VII VI. Felt by all, many frightened. Some heavy furniture moved; a few instances of fallen plaster. Damage slight. VII. Damage negligible in buildings of good design and construction; slight to moderate in well-built ordinary structures; considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures; some chimneys broken. 34 - 124 6.0 - 6.9 VII - IX VIII. Damage slight in specially designed structures; considerable damage in ordinary substantial buildings with partial collapse. Damage great in poorly built structures. Fall of chimneys, factory stacks, columns, monuments, walls. Heavy furniture overturned. IX. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. >124 7.0 and VIII or higher X. Some well-built wooden structures destroyed; most masonry and frame higher structures destroyed with foundations. Rails bent. XI. Few, if any [masonry] structures remain standing. Bridges destroyed. Rails bent greatly. XII. Damage total. Lines of sight and level are distorted. Objects thrown into the air. Wald, Quitoriano, Heaton and Kanamori, 1999
Most of Wisconsin’s occurrences have not been severe, with only one registering 5.1 on the Richter Scale.
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Frequency of Occurrence
Earthquakes that have affected Wisconsin from 1899 to 1987 are listed in the table that follows. The most severe earthquake in Wisconsin was the record earthquake of 1811, centered along the New Madrid Fault. Most earthquakes that do occur in Wisconsin are very low in intensity and can hardly be felt. These very minor earthquakes are fairly common, occurring every few years. Events of moderate magnitude have occurred in locations in Illinois and Michigan. Those and other stronger earthquakes centered in other parts of the country have been felt primarily in Southern Wisconsin.
Date Location Latitude Longitude Maximum Magnitude North West Intensity 10/12/1899 Kenosha 42o 34’ 87o 50’ II 3.0 3/13/1905 Marinette 45o 08’ 87o 40’ V 3.8 4/22/1906 Shorewood 43o 03’ 87o 55’ II 3.0 4/24/1906 Milwaukee 43o 03’ 87o 55’ III -- 1/10/1907 Marinette 45o 08’ 87o 40’ III -- 5/26/1909 Beloit 42o 30’ 89o 00’ VII 5.1 (max) 10/7/1914 Madison 43o 05’ 89o 23’ IV 3.8 5/31/1916 Madison 43o 05’ 89o 21’ II 3.0 7/7/1922 Fond du Lac 43o 47’ 88o 29’ V 3.6 10/18/1931 Madison 43o 05’ 89o 23’ III 3.4 12/6/1933 Stoughton 42o 54’ 89o 15’ IV 3.5 11/7/1938 Dubuque 42o 30’ 90o 43’ II 3.0 11/7/1938 Dubuque 42o 30’ 90o 43’ II 3.0 11/7/1938 Dubuque 42o 30’ 90o 43’ II 3.0 2/9/1943 Thunder Mountain 45o 11’ 88o 10’ III 3.2 5/6/1947 Milwaukee 43o 00’ 87o 55’ V 4.0 1/15/1948 Lake Mendota 43o 09’ 89o 41’ IV 3.8 7/18/1956 Oostburg 43o 37’ 87o45’ IV 3.8 7/18/1956 Oostburg 43o 37’ 87o45’ IV 3.8 10/13/1956 South Milwaukee 42o 55’ 87o52’ IV 3.8 1/8/1957 Beaver Dam 42o 32’ 98o48’ IV 3.6 2/28/1979 Bill Cross Rapids 45o 13’ 89o46’ -- <1.0 MoLg 1/9/1981 Madison 43o 05’ 87o55’ II -- 3/13/1981 Madison 43o 37’ 87o45’ II -- 6/12/1981 Oxford 43o 52’ 89o39’ IV-V -- 2/12/1987 Milwaukee 42o 95’ 87o84’ IV-V -- 2/12/1987 Milwaukee 43o 19’ 87o28’ IV-V -- 6/28/2004 Troy Grove, IL 41o 46’ 88o91’ IV 4.2
The nearest major active fault is the New Madrid Fault, stretching along the central Mississippi River Valley in Missouri. In recent years, considerable attention has focused on seismic activity in the New Madrid seismic zone that lies within the central Mississippi Valley, extending from northeast Arkansas through southeast
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Missouri, western Tennessee and western Kentucky to southern Illinois. Scientists at the Center for Earthquake Information have computed a set of probabilities that estimates the potential for different magnitude earthquakes to occur at the New Madrid Fault. Even an 8.3 magnitude earthquake at the New Madrid Fault, however, would cause only minor damage in the southeastern corner of Wisconsin. At this time it is not possible to predict the exact date, duration or magnitude of an earthquake.
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As seen on the map in Appendix A, the earthquake threat to Outagamie County is considered very low (the 50-year acceleration probability is 2%.) Minor damage (e.g., cracked plaster, broken windows) from earthquakes has occurred in Wisconsin but most often the results have been only rattling windows and shaking ground. There is little risk except to structures that are badly constructed. Most of the felt earthquakes reported have been centered in other nearby states. The causes of these local quakes are poorly understood and are thought to have resulted from the still-occurring rebound of the earth’s crust after the retreat of the last glacial ice. The likelihood of damage from an earthquake is also very low.
Vulnerability
Any impact in the community from earthquake would likely be due to a few broken windows and personal effects that fell in the
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earthquake. The damage to critical infrastructure and buildings would be negligible.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
Since Outagamie County is not likely to suffer directly from a severe earthquake, the community impacts are not considered significant and mitigation planning for this hazard is not necessary. The goal for this section of the plan is therefore to educate on the very low risks of earthquake damage in Outagamie County.
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Flooding and Dam Failure
Flooding and Dam Failure
Flooding is defined as a general condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land (i.e., the floodplains) caused by the overflow of inland waters or the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. Floodplains are the lowlands next to a body of water that are susceptible to recurring floods.
FEMA, August 2001 Floods are common in the United States, including Wisconsin, and are considered natural events that are hazardous only when adversely affecting people and property.
Physical Characteristics
Major floods in Wisconsin have usually been confined either to specific streams or to locations that receive intense rainfall in a short period of time.
Flooding that occurs in the spring due to snow melt or during a period of heavy rain is characterized by a slow buildup of flow and velocity in rivers and streams over a period of days. This buildup continues until the river or stream overflows its banks, for as long as a week or two, then slowly recedes. Generally the timing and location of this type of flooding is fairly predictable and allows ample time for evacuation of people and property.
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For prediction and warning purposes, floods are classified by the National Weather Service into two types: those that develop and crest over a period of approximately six hours or more and those that crest more quickly. The former are referred to as "floods" and the latter as "flash floods." Flash flooding occurs solely from surface run-off that results from intense rainfall. Flash flooding occurs less frequently in Wisconsin than flooding associated with spring snow melt but it is unpredictable.
Generally the amount of damage from flooding is a direct consequence of land use. If the ground is already saturated, stripped of vegetation or paved, the amount of run-off increases, adding to the flooding. There is also a concern regarding the loss of topsoil and erosion due to flooding.
Terms commonly used when referring to flooding are "100-year flood" and "flood plain." A "100-year flood" is defined as the flood water level that can be expected to occur or to be exceeded in a given location once every 100 years. There is a one percent chance of a flood of such magnitude or greater occurring in any given year. The DNR, working with local zoning offices, has designated flood plain areas as those places where there is the greatest potential for flooding.
Flooding may also occur due to a dam breach or overflow. Dams are barriers built across a waterway to store, control or divert water; a dam failure is a failure of the dam that causes downstream flooding. Failures may be caused by technological events (e.g., materials failure) or by natural events (e.g., landslide, earthquake) with flooding being the most common result.
Outagamie County has 54 small, uncontrolled agricultural dams included in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) database:
Dam Official Name Owner Waterway Name Size Latitude Longitude (Popular Name) Type (Downstream City) KAUKAUNA SMALL 44.3038731 -88.2549383 CITY INDUSTRIAL PARK BLACK OTTER HORTONVILLE LARGE 44.33415 -88.63859 VILLAGE CREEK KAUKAUNA LARGE 44.2812707 -88.2708823 COE FOX COMBINED LOCKS LARGE 44.2799122 -88.2659935 CITY FOX LOWER KAUKAUNA LARGE 44.2798469 -88.2556333 CITY FOX LITTLE CHUTE LARGE 44.2739483 -88.3009666 CITY FOX UPPER APPLETON LARGE 44.2534826 -88.4127773 COE FOX KIMBERLY LARGE 44.2751375 -88.3185543 COE FOX RAPIDS CROCHE LARGE 44.3163401 -88.1978576 COE FOX AID ASSOC. FOR LUTHERANS SMALL 44.3031612 -88.3789522 PRIVATE TR-APPLE CREEK (THRIVENT)
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Dam Official Name Owner Waterway Name Size Latitude Longitude (Popular Name) Type (Downstream City) DEER CREEK DRAINAGE DITCH SMALL 44.576273 -88.6373831 DNR WILDLIFE TR EMBARRASS R BUBOLZ NATURE SMALL 44.3169647 -88.4605545 PRIVATE TR-BEAR CREEK PRESERVE OBERMEIER, TR-EMBARRASS SMALL 44.4761613 -88.6578226 PRIVATE RUSSELL NO.1 RIVER OBERMEIER, TR-EMBARRASS SMALL 44.4753356 -88.6550942 PRIVATE RUSSELL NO.2 RIVER PURDY,BRUCE SMALL 44.3466056 -88.3684275 PRIVATE TR-DUCK CREEK MOREAU, DONALD SMALL 44.3504604 -88.6675515 PRIVATE TRIB WOLF RIVER VAN HANDLE DAM SMALL 44.4310195 -87.6768721 PRIVATE UNNAMED ROBINSON SMALL 44.4732807 -88.5732309 PRIVATE WOLF R MIDDLE KAUKAUNA 44.2775894 -88.2606863 PRIVATE FOX RIVER HENDRICKS DAM SMALL 44.3357924 -88.3202193 PRIVATE UNNAMED HOFKENS, JEFF #1 SMALL 44.4791072 -88.4207036 PRIVATE UNNAMED DITCH HOFKENS, JEFF #3 SMALL 44.4790288 -88.4184231 PRIVATE UNNAMED DITCH NAGY SMALL 44.26462 -88.57291 PRIVATE UNNAMED TRIBUTARY TO LAMERS SMALL 44.26394 -88.3025 PRIVATE GARNERS CREEK TRIB TO GARNERS SERENITY RIDGE SMALL PRIVATE CREEK BUTTE DES MORTS SMALL 44.24458 -88.46228 PRIVATE MUD CREEK COUNTRY CLUB AAL (THRIVENT) APPLE CREEK SMALL 44.30708 -88.36874 PRIVATE DETENTION POND TRIBUTARY TRIBUTARY TO MUD CREEK SOUTH SMALL 44.30289 -88.4141 CITY MUD CREEK RED OAK RAVINE SMALL 44.2441455 -88.4244803 CITY RED OAK RAVINE GARNERS CREEK K2A DAM SMALL 44.2429366 -88.3546183 CITY TRIBUTARY KAMIN DAM SMALL 44.2555396 -88.6207972 PRIVATE UNNAMED HORTONVILLE IND. SMALL 44.3293796 -88.6564266 VILLAGE UNNAMED PARK DAM APPLE HILL FARMS PRIV SMALL 44.3281219 -88.3722265 UNNAMED #4 DAM PRIVATE APPLE CREEK DAM LARGE 44.3156346 -88.3358492 CITY APPLE CREEK #2 HOFKENS, JEFF #2 SMALL 44.4806166 -88.4208229 PRIVATE UNNAMED DITCH WOLF RIVER BERNEGGER DAM SMALL 44.365341 -88.6973568 PRIVATE BACKWATER WHITE DAM SMALL 44.4670148 -88.6816494 PRIVATE APPLE CREEK HIGH POND DAM SMALL 44.3318686 -88.3674358 PRIVATE TRIBUTARY UNNAMED TRIB TO EVERGREEN POND SMALL 44.300879 -88.3154969 VILLAGE APPLE CREEK UNNAMED TRIB TO VANDEBROEK POND SMALL 44.2974245 -88.3198139 VILLAGE APPLE CREEK UNNAMED TRIB TO HOLLAND POND SMALL 44.296229 -88.327704 VILLAGE APPLE CREEK LITTLE CHUTE #D TRIBUTARY TO SMALL 44.3033599 -88.3063393 VILLAGE 16A APPLE CREEK WOLF RIVER SMALL 44.5208106 -88.6314907 DNR BOTTOMS EGRET FLOWAGE SMALL 44.5165998 -88.6079591 DNR BLACK OTTER BENEGGER MARSH SMALL 44.362786 -88.6704109 PRIVATE CREEK SUNSET PARK POND SMALL 44.2714144 -88.3476427 VILLAGE DAM UPPER OSPREY DAM SMALL 44.5413292 -88.6218318 DNR FISHERY POND DAM 44.5348176 -88.6014257 LOWER APPLETON LARGE 44.258948 -88.3905192 COE FOX MIDDLE APPLETON LARGE 44.25742 -88.40482 PRIVATE FOX KENSINGTON POND CITY GARNER CREEK OUTAGAMIE SUB- SMALL 44.503292 -88.5820256 DNR
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Dam Official Name Owner Waterway Name Size Latitude Longitude (Popular Name) Type (Downstream City) IMP. FLOWAGE WILDERNESS SW SMALL 44.5207651 -88.5867472 DNR FLOWAGE DAM SHIOCTON LARGE 44.4831054 -88.5275345 DNR MITIGATION .
The City of Appleton also has dams not listed on the Wisconsin DNR database, including the Holland Rd. Detention Basin Dam and the Ballard Rd. Detention Pond Dam.
Most of these dams are small, mill-type dams under the jurisdiction of the DNR and are also privately owned. None of these dams could handle the volume of water generated by a 100- or 500-year flood without overtopping. These dams are inspected by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the largest are required to have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and failure analysis on them. There are no dams in other counties that pose a significant flooding risk to the citizens of Outagamie County.
One potential effect of flooding is erosion. Erosion is defined as the removal of soil by the force of waves, currents and/or ice at a lakeshore or streambank or by the power of wind or water on open land. Erosion is a natural process that can be accelerated by natural disasters (e.g., flooding, heavy rains, strong winds, drought) or by human activity (e.g., removal of plants/trees, tilling.) Because of the many waterways in Outagamie County, there is concern about ensuring the stabilization of the shorelines.
Watersheds
All of Outagamie County is within the Lake Michigan drainage area. Outagamie County lies within the Wolf River Basin and the Lower Fox River Basin. It contains portions of 11 watersheds. The Wolf River Basin is the largest and encompasses approximately the western two-thirds of the county. It includes the watersheds of the Shioc River, Middle Wolf River, North Branch and Main Stem of the Embarrass River, Wolf/New London and Bear Creek, the Lower Wolf River and Arrowhead River and Daggets Creek. The east central and northeastern sections of the county are part of the Lower Fox River Basin which includes the watersheds of Duck Creek, Apple and Ashwaubenon Creeks, Fox River-Appleton and the Plum and Kankapot Creeks. A small area in the northeastern corner of the county is part of the Green Bay Basin, which includes the sub-watershed of Suamico and Little Suamico Rivers.
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The maps in Attachment A show the watershed boundaries and 100-year flood plains for the entire county. Following is a brief description of each watershed:
Shioc River
This watershed is located in the north central portion of Outagamie County and extends into Shawano County to the north. It is one of the larger watersheds in the County. There are 11 point source dischargers in the watershed: the Villages of Black Creek, Bonduel and Nichols; the City of Seymour; Dehn's Inc.; Fremont Company; Isaar Cheese, Inc.; Outagamie Producers Cooperative; Wolf River Kraut; Vlasic Foods, Inc. and the Twelve Corners Cheese Factory.
Middle Wolf River
This watershed is located in the north central portion of Outagamie County and extends into Shawano County to the north. There are seven point source dischargers to the Middle Wolf River Watershed: Maple Lane Health Care Facility, Wolf Treatment Plant, Belle Plaine Cheese Factory, Grass Lake Cheese Factory, Lunds Cheese Factory, Rose Brook Cheese Factory and the Shawano Paper Mills. The Middle Wolf River Watershed ranked high priority for streams and medium for groundwater under the NPS Priority Watershed selection process.
North Branch & Main Stem of the Embarrass River
This watershed is located in the north central portion of Outagamie County and extends into Shawano County to the north and Waupaca County to the west. There are seven point source dischargers in the watershed: the Villages of Bear Creek and Bowler, Embarrass/Cloverleaf Lakes Sanitary District No. 1, Flanagan Brothers, Inc., Oak Grove Cheese Factory, Pella Locker and Liquor and Witt's Locker. The watershed ranked high priority for streams and medium for groundwater under the NPS Priority Watershed selection process.
Wolf/New London & Bear Creek
This watershed is located almost entirely in west-central Outagamie County and it is the largest watershed in the county. There are
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seven point source dischargers in the watershed: the Villages of Hortonville and Shiocton, City of New London, Stephensville Sanitary District No. 1, Borden Inc. - Consumer Products Division, Karl H. Peters Poultry Dressing and the Larsen Company. The watershed ranked medium for streams and low for groundwater under the NPS Priority Watershed selection process.
Lower Wolf River
Most of this watershed is in Waupaca County but the far eastern tip of the watershed impinges on southwest portion of Outagamie County. Three point source dischargers are located in the watershed: the City of Weyauwega, Hillshire Farms Company and the Silverfield Cheese Factory.
Arrowhead River & Daggets Creek
Most of this watershed lies in Winnebago County to the south but some of it lies in the southwest corner of Outagamie County. There are four point source discharges in the watershed: the Ridgeway Country Club, Larsen-Winchester Sanitary District, Town of Winneconne Sanitary District No.1 and the Dale Sanitary District No. 1. The watershed ranked high priority for streams and low for groundwater under the Wisconsin Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program priority watershed selection process.
Duck Creek
Most of this watershed lies in the east-northeast part of Outagamie County. There are two municipal point source dischargers and three industrial point source dischargers in the Duck Creek Watershed: Freedom Sanitary District No. 1, Sanger B Powers Correctional Center, Anamax, New Harvest Foods Inc and Provimi Inc.
Apple & Ashwaubenon Creeks
About half of this watershed lies in the east-southeast portion of Outagamie County and the remaining half lies in Brown County to the east. There are no municipal point source dischargers and two industrial point source dischargers in the Apple and Ashwaubenon Creek Watershed: Fabco Equipment and Super Value Stores Inc.
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Fox River-Appleton
Most of this small watershed lies in south central Outagamie County although a small portion lies in Winnebago County to the south. There are two municipal point source discharger and four industrial point source dischargers in the Fox River/Appleton Watershed: the City of Appleton, Heart of the Valley Metro. Sewerage District, Anchor Food Products, Foremost Farms USA Coop Appleton (2 facilities) and Thilmany Division International Paper.
Plum & Kankapot Creeks
About half of this watershed lies in the southeast corner of Outagamie County. The remaining portion of the watershed lies in Calumet County to the south and Brown County to the east. There is one municipal point source dischargers and five industrial point source dischargers in the Plum Creek Watershed: Holland Town Sanitary District No. 1, Appleton Papers Inc. Locksmill, Interlake Papers, Kerwin Paper Co. Div. Riverside Corp., White Clover Dairy Co Inc. and White Clover Dairy Inc. Sherwood.
Suamico & Little Suamico Rivers
A small portion of this watershed lies in the northeast corner of Outagamie County and the rest extends in to Shawano County to the North and Brown County to the northeast.
Floodplain Regulations
Floodplain regulations have been in place in the cities, towns and villages of Outagamie County for many years. The Department of Natural Resources requires that each municipality approve regulations that meet DNR guidelines. These regulations and guidelines result from the value of Wisconsin lakes and waterways and a desire to preserve them and to protect the people who reside near them. Unregulated development can lead to loss of lives and property during floods.
Chapter 614, Laws of Wisconsin 1965, requires counties to adopt regulations giving all lands within 300 feet of navigable rivers or streams protection from haphazard development. Under this
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legislation, Outagamie County has adopted a zoning ordinance which gives a measure of protection to watersheds. The law protecting flood plains was created to meet the following objectives:
Reduce the hazards to life and property from flooding.
Protect flood plain occupants from a flood which is or may be caused by their own land use, which is or may be undertaken without full realization of the danger.
Protect the public from the burden of extraordinary financial expenditures for flood control and relief.
Encroachment on flood plains, including structures or fill, reduces the flood-carrying capacity.
Frequency of Occurrence
Wisconsin has experienced several major floods during the last two decades. The 1973 and 1986 floods revealed that no flood plains or urban areas in Wisconsin can be considered safe from damages. Mill-dams have developed leaks on occasion but have not caused any flooding problems.
Outagamie County historically does not have a constant flooding problem. There has been some localized flooding primarily caused by heavy rainfall and run-off. The following five Presidential Disaster Declarations for flooding occurred in Outagamie County:
DR-376, May 1973 DR-877, August 1990 DR-994, July 1993 DR-1369, June 2001 DR-1524, June 2004
Following is a table with the 14 flood events recorded by the National Weather Service between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010:
Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 08/07/1995 Black Creek Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flash Flood 06/16/1996 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $0 Flood County Crop: $56M 04/01/1998 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flood
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County 06/27/1998 South Portion Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flash Flood Outagamie County 06/10/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Urban/Small Stream Flood 07/05/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Urban/Small Stream Flood 07/08/1999 New London Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Urban/Small Stream Flood 08/14/2000 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Urban/Small Stream Flood 06/11/2001 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Urban/Small Stream Flood 04/21/2003 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flood County 07/30/2003 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flash Flood 08/02/2003 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flash Flood 03/31/2004 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flood County 04/01/2004 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Flood County
Additionally, there were some locally significant recent events in July and August 2010 that were not yet reflected in the National Weather Service tables including:
July 14 - 15, 2010 Tornado Warning 2:29 pm – 3:05 pm Severe Thunderstorm Warning 3:02 pm – 3:45 pm 3:12 pm Corn field flattened, wind gusts of 52 mph, New London 4:55 pm 8 to 10 inches of water covering road at Northland and Meade, Appleton. 5:30 pm County EM provided sandbags to Greenville Flash Flood Warning 6:29 pm - 10:27 pm Flooding in Hortonville, Greenville, Grand Chute, Appleton, Kaukauna, Kimberly and Vandenbroek Communication Center from 2 – 10 pm received 519 phone calls and dispatched 251 incidents Rain received during the 7/14 & 7/15: Appleton 4.5”, New London 3.21”, Shiocton 2.89” 6:00 pm County EOC is setup and monitoring the weather situation Planning Department mapped damaged areas 7:32 pm Flooding up to vehicle headlights at Linwood & Marquette, Appleton 7:37 pm Car stranded in the flash flood – Appleton 7:54 pm Car towed from flooded intersection, Mason and Hwy OO, Appleton
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9:35 pm 3-4’ of water in basement at Alexander Eye Institute, Grand Chute 9:35 pm Residential flooding at 4111 W. Capitol Drive 10:39 pm Emergency Management delivers 125 pre-filled sandbags from Highway to Vandenbroek Everglade Drive closed between Greenwood and Hwy 76 due to flooding Communication Center receives over 30 reports of flooding from residents Requested assistance from 2-1-1 Severe Thunderstorm Warning 6:30 pm – 7:15 pm Flash Flood Warning 11:32 pm - July 15 4:07 am 12:39 am Vehicle rollover from flooding, Hwy 41S and Hwy 15 1:29 am Roads closed at Hwy CB and W. Spencer Street 2:10 am Water flowing over Hwy BB. 5:54 am Hwy JJ under Hwy 41 flooded, rerouted traffic. County Hwy JJ closed from McCarthy to Mayflower Outagamie County invoked a no-wake zone on the Fox River Severe Thunderstorm Warning 11:54 pm – 12:35 am July 15 12:36 AM Trees down in Grand Chute
July 19, 2010 Flash Flood at Black Creek 11:30 am – 3:30 pm 30 homes flooded with minor damage Hwy 54 closed from 12 pm – 9 pm due to 4”+ of water Shiocton-Bovina and Seymour-Osborne Fire Departments bring personnel and the County Disaster trailers County Emergency Management delivered 23 sump pumps with hoses Requested 40 Flood cleanup kits from the American Red Cross Requested feeding services for 50 public safety personnel from Salvation Army Requested assistance from 2-1-1 Fire Department pumped out basements in the village Highway Department delivers 500 pre-filled sandbags Flash Flood Warning 6:44 pm – 9:53 pm 10:15 PM Water over Hwy 41 at Lynndale Drive to Capitol 10: 23 PM Flooding at Wisconsin Ave and Bluemound Ave.
July 20, 2010 Severe Thunderstorm Warning 5:54 pm - 6:34 pm Severe Thunderstorm Warning 6:43 pm - 7:30 pm 80 mph straight-line winds, Hortonville 15 homes with 8-10 down trees at each home from straight-line winds Damage assessment done by Police Chief and County EM Requested the MN-WI Baptist Disaster Relief Chainsaw Team for assistance 1.75” Hail, Greenville 1” Hail, Appleton
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11 Major, 12 Minor, and 37 Affected Homes: Appleton Damage Assessment Team 1 Major, 3 Moderate, 4 Minor, and 24 Affected Homes: Grand Chute Damage Assessment Team Appleton Medical Center on generator and also has flooding/hail issues $30,000 damage WE Energies - over 170 hazards and power outages over the county Severe Thunderstorm Warning 6:45 pm - 7:02 pm Severe Thunderstorm Warning 7:19 pm – 7:48 pm 1.75” Hail Appleton
July 22, 2010 Expected possible flash flooding, EOC was set up to monitor Thunderstorm causes flooding in the lower Fox Valley Buchanan: Sinkhole on the WI International Raceway Track - $50,000 uninsured damage
August 11, 2010 Flooding at the Wisconsin International Raceway, Town of Buchanan
August 20, 2010 Windstorm, New London Flooding, Black Creek
There were no areas in Outagamie County identified by FEMA as areas with repetitive loss damage. These repetitive losses are identified through the NFIP record of claims. A careful review of the geography and history of flooding in Outagamie County leads to the conclusion that there is a moderate probability of flooding in the future and a low probability of damage and losses due to flooding. This flooding could occur due to river flooding, flash flooding or a dam failure.
Vulnerability
After flooding, whether caused by a storm or dam failure, there is often damage. Potential vulnerabilities due to flooding events can include flooded public facilities and schools, many of which are the community’s shelters needed when individual housing is uninhabitable. Utilities are also vulnerable in floods, which can bring down electric lines/poles/transformers, telephone lines and can disrupt radio communications. The loss of communications can impact the effectiveness of first response agencies, which need to communicate via two-way radio to mount emergency response and recovery activities. The public media communications utilized
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by emergency managers to provide timely and adequate emergency public information can also be impacted.
Residential structures may suffer from flooded basements, damaged septic systems and damaged functionals (e.g., HVAC systems, clothes washers and driers). Homes may also be impacted by sewer back-up and, if the home is not properly cleaned after a flood, bacterial growth and mold may impact the home’s air quality and cause illness among the occupants.
Businesses can suffer building and equipment damage similar to homes. Businesses may lose expensive product stored in basement or other low areas as well as the ability to operate from their facility. If the facility must close, its owners and employees will most likely suffer economic hardships beyond what their personal losses may have entailed. Agricultural business losses involve the loss of standing crops and harvests that are damaged by flooded storage facilities in the immediate time period. On a longer time scale, the erosion of rich topsoil by floodwaters can degrade the land and impact future crop yields.
Perhaps one of the most expensive types of flood damage is that to roadways, which are washed out, inundated and/or covered by debris, blocking access to emergency and general public traffic.
As noted in the demographics section, Outagamie County has experienced rapid development in recent decades. The population of Outagamie County rose from 140,510 to 160,971 between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. This is an increase of 20,461 people - a population growth rate of almost 15%. With this increase in population came an increase in physical structures (e.g., roadways, driveways, homes, parking lots, businesses), all of which increase the total area covered by impermeable surfaces. All of these impermeable surfaces have created a higher volume of run-off and a greater potential for flooding. That increased volume coupled with increased population and number of structures means that there are more lives and improved property at risk for flooding.
Detailed information on flood-affected areas is provided in the appendices. Appendix A contains maps depicting areas that sustained damage in Outagamie County flooding events
According to the Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation Plan, Outagamie County flood loss estimations for residential, commercial and
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government structures in Special Flood Hazard Areas [SFHA] for a two-foot flood are:
Residential Commercial Government Number of Structures 4164 28 0 Average Value $110,515 $2,183,096 $1,981,600 Total Potential Loss $92,033,157 $12,351,957 $0
This data was gathered with the use of Digital FIRMS or Q3 data, which is available for Outagamie County.
Another way to look at vulnerability is to look at the number of claims against the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) over the last thirty years. Outagamie County has had 53 claims (including 0 properties with repetitive losses) with $76,336 in building claims and $4,085 in contents claims for a total of $80,421. The Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation Plan lists Outagamie County 38th (of 72 possible counties) when losses claimed were ranked according to claim amount. The county is tied for 18th when ranked according to the number of claims submitted.
The Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation Plan also projects future risk for Outagamie County based on a 30-year horizon. The results show annual claims averaging $2,681 and future risk at $33,267. When ordered by projected future flood risk, Outagamie County ranks 38th in Wisconsin.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
Outagamie County does not has an extensive history of expensive damage to buildings and infrastructure due to floods but along with the strategies listed above (i.e., in the All Hazards chapter) that deal with public information and planning, Outagamie County can generally make current and future buildings and infrastructure more disaster-resistant by:
Using its maps and hydrology studies to ensure that properties at risk are identified and, as available, appropriate grants are sought and secured to mitigate losses. Good data also ensures that decision-makers can create and enforce appropriate zoning and/or building regulations to make any new structures disaster-resistant. This would include completing the stormwater flooding study efforts, design,
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permit and constructing mitigation measures such as buyouts, underground storage, ponds, etc. at the following locations, which affect emergency vehicle routes and approximately 50-100 properties: o AMC Study Area o Green Bay Road Study Area o Leonard Street Study Area o Theodore/Calumet Streets Study Area
Targeting old structures for buy-out and convert the land to open, public lands. This also eliminates future damages by preventing building on this land.
Pre-identifying infrastructure (roads, bridges, culverts, shoulders) prone to flooding and directing current and future budgetary dollars towards making the infrastructure disaster- resistant as it is scheduled for routine maintenance. Areas of concern include:
o Buchanan Road bridge replacement o Culvert-bridge replacement program o Grandy Road bridge replacement o Rita (Mead St.) bridge replacement o Wachtendock (French Rd.) bridge o Culvert replacement program
Performing preventative maintenance in areas of concern. An example would be to remove debris (e.g., logs, timbers) from the river beds, ditches, etc. to prevent blockages at bridges and other potential “choke points”.
The plan is intended to identify areas that are particularly susceptible to flooding, assess the risks, analyze the potential for mitigation and recommend mitigation strategies where appropriate. The goals of this plan are:
Goal 1: To reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Another part of this goal is to promote safety and health in areas that have been or are prone to be flooded. Goal 2: To preserve and enhance the quality of life throughout Outagamie County by identifying potential property damage risks and recommending appropriate mitigation strategies to minimize potential property damage during/due to flooding.
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Goal 3: To promote countywide planning that avoids transferring the risk from one community to an adjacent community. Goal 4: To ensure that all communities in Outagamie County participate in the NFIP so that all county residents have access to affordable flood insurance coverage. Goal 5: To identify potential funding sources for mitigation projects and form the basis for project grant applications through FEMA's Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and/or Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs.
Short term actions that can lessen the effects of flooding include:
Issuance of early warnings through flood advisory bulletins.
Dissemination of instructions to the public through the media.
Preparation of congregate care facilities.
Evacuation of people and property.
Temporary protective measures such as sandbagging, protection of buildings and other structures and cut-off of gas and electricity may also be implemented. Presently, Outagamie County maintains a limited stock of sandbags to assist the municipalities with flood containment.
The current emphasis in flood mitigation is on long-range actions. Such actions include the adoption of proper floodplain zoning ordinances and land-use planning. There are several communities within the county engaged in ongoing development planning processes. The county is involved with these communities and their processes to ensure data sharing and consistency among the communities. The communities in Outagamie County are committed to looking for acceptable (e.g., environmentally, socially, cost-benefit, politically, etc.) solutions for removing water from flood-prone areas in a cost-effective and responsible way. Communities will seek out funding sources (i.e., grants) to execute solutions identified in the identification and evaluation process. Some of the potential solutions may include acquisitions, demolitions, floodproofing or moving water to surface streams. The Village of Black Creek is currently in discussions with the county,
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state and local water district boards to seek solutions to identified areas of repeat flooding.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is working with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the Outagamie County Land Conservation Department and municipal leaders to hire engineers to conduct a study to identify areas where the dam at Shiocton (in the Drainage District) needs repair to come into compliance with WI state statute NR333. After completion of the study, it is expected that identified mitigation measures will occur.
Outagamie County is also committed to remaining compliant with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and all other state and federal laws. According to the NFIP, the following communities participate in the program.
Outagamie County
Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna and Seymour
Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute and Shiocton
Tribe of Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
The Village of Nichols does not participate in the NFIP. One hazard mitigation strategy selected is to inform the public about the availability of flood insurance; this task will be carried out by the County Emergency Management Office.
There is a need for review and updating of some of the flood- related data, information and projects in the county including:
Improving floodplain ordinance mapping - New flood maps are being adopted (scheduled for March 2010). LIDAR data gathering cost $270,000 and will be completed March 2010.
Complete the stormwater management plan, which is a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) mandate.
Conduct floodplain mapping and modeling projects to help with new flood plan delineation for FEMA mapping:
o Conduct a culvert-bridge inventory
Page 78 Flooding and Dam Failure
o Map footprints of buildings in the floodplain. A bridge inventory was done in 2004 but is not well maintained.
Outagamie County Emergency Management and the Zoning Department regularly disseminate public information materials related to flooding and the purchase of flood insurance and they will continue to have printed information as well as links to applicable sites on their webpages.
Page 79 Fire
Fire
Outagamie County has identified fire as one of its major concerns. Fires in the county may be on wooded/forested land, wildfires on grasslands, peat moss fires and/or structural fires. The forest fire and wildfire (fires on open or agricultural land) season in Outagamie County begins in March and continues through November, although fires can occur at any time during any month of the year. Peat moss fires can remain undetected for days, weeks or months because of their smoldering underground. Generally speaking, fires are more likely to occur whenever vegetation is dry as a result of a winter with little snow or a summer with sparse rainfall.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is responsible for forest fire protection on approximately 18 million acres of forest and wild land in Wisconsin. The U.S. Forest Service maintains forest fire protection on two million acres of this land while local fire departments retain responsibility for the remaining wooded acreage.
Physical Characteristics
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, there are approximately 1,500 fires annually that burn over 5,000 acres of the land that they protect; over 90% of these fires are human-caused. It should be noted that these figures do not include areas of the state where a local fire department has primary responsibility for service.
Source: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/forestry/fire/fire-ps.htm
Page 80 Fire
The Deer Creek Wildlife Area, Liberty Wildlife Area, Mack Wildlife Area, Maine Wildlife Area, Outagamie County Wildlife Area, Shaky Lake Wildlife Area, Spoehrs Marsh, Watchable Wildlife Area, Wolf River Wildlife Area and Wolf River Bottoms Wildlife Area are the natural areas in Outagamie County.
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetative matter that forms in wetland bogs and peat swamp forests. Peat forms when plant material in marshy areas is inhibited from decaying fully by acidic and anaerobic conditions. It is composed mainly of marshland vegetation: trees, grasses and fungi as well as other types of organic remains such as insects and animal remains. Most modern peat bogs formed in high latitudes after the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age 9,000 years ago. They usually grow slowly, at the rate of about a millimeter per year.
Around the world, peat has had many historical and still has many modern uses such as fuel, for smoking the barley used in Scotch whiskey and as a soil amendment for gardening. Although peat has many beneficial uses for humans, it also presents severe problems at times. When dry it can be a major fire hazard, as peat fires will smoulder and burn slowly, sometimes undetected, until the fuel is exhausted. Peat fires can burn underground, reigniting after the winter, provided there is a source of oxygen. Peat deposits also pose major difficulties to builders of structures, roads and railways since they are highly compressible under even small loads. Outagamie County has large peat moss formations primarily in the western and northern portions of the county. (See map in Appendix A for locations.) Local fire departments are responsible for fire protection in all of these open acreage areas.
Fields burning in peat moss area. Kuala Kapuas. Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. 1997. (asd-www.larc.nasa.gov/biomass_burn/wildland.html)
Page 81 Fire
As noted previously, Outagamie County is experiencing growth at the astounding rate of 15%, one of the highest in Wisconsin. This has led to the building of homes, businesses and community spaces to support the high quality of life experienced in Outagamie County. These structures are all subject to fire through criminal activity; the failure of wiring, circuits, etc.; gas leaks or natural causes such as lightning strikes.
Municipal fire departments are responsible for the prevention of and response to structural fires in Outagamie County. For large fires, the responding departments will use mutual aid departments to assist with firefighting.
Frequency of Occurrence
While the total number of open fires in Wisconsin has decreased over the years, the potential danger to lives and property remains due to the increased encroachment of development into previously open lands. Overall, the probability for a forest fire, wildfire or peat moss fire in Outagamie County is low and the probability of damage from forest or wildfire is also considered low. There has been one statewide wildfire event recorded since 1950 by the National Weather Service. This event occurred on 23 April 1994 and caused no injuries or deaths but did cause $500,000 in crop and property damage (each).
Structural fires represent a large portion of the fire calls received by fire departments each year. The probability of structural fires in the
Page 82 Fire
county is high and the potential for loss of life and property damage due to structural fires is also considered high.
Vulnerability
Forest fires, wildfires and peat moss fires can impact the ecology of the open lands. Outagamie County, which has multiple natural areas, would greatly impacted by a wildfire and a disruption from fire could erase the usability of this habitat for wildlife and/or recreational purposes for many years.
Every person in Outagamie County has the potential to be affected by a structural fire in their home, at their place of work, in their public/community buildings or in businesses upon which they rely for services. The impacts from structural fires may range from one person to community wide if the loss is to a core structure such as a school, a large living complex or a major employer.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
Government at all levels is developing mitigation programs in fire control and fire fighting tactics with the goal of protecting lives and property from loss due to forest and wildfire. Local fire departments attend regular trainings on fire-fighting tactics to keep their skills honed. County Emergency Management assists local departments and their staff with available grant applications for training, exercising, equipment and planning as able and requested.
Emergency management also partners with the local fire departments to provide information about fire safety and other mitigation strategies (e.g., protecting structures from wildfires), especially during Fire Safety Week in October of each year. Outreach efforts to citizens on protecting homes and structures from fires include topics such as:
Eliminating the hazard, Installing and maintaining smoke detectors, Youth and civic group fire awareness programs, Fire extinguisher training, Outdoor fire safety education.
Page 83 Fire
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) does not have a forestry office in Outagamie County and also does not pre- stage resources (e.g., rangers, equipment, supplies) there. If there was a large wildfire for which local firefighters would request state assistance, the DNR may be able to provide limited assistance based upon their deployment level at that time.
The controlled and consistent issuance and enforcement of burning permits is a concern in the county and its municipalities. Currently, town chairs issue burn banning orders so the issuance is not consistent among the municipalities. The Outagamie County Executive does issue “no burn” advisories but these are not an enforceable action. To address these concerns, the county and its municipalities would like to explore:
Creating a county ordinance to enforce the “no burning” advisories.
Create a process to standardize between the communities when burn restrictions are ordered based on the DNR science model.
Provide a link on the county disaster preparedness website to the National Weather Service – Green Bay grassland fire danger index when it is completed. Also link to county and town burn advisories and restrictions.
Other general fire mitigation measures that the county and its municipalities would like to consider include:
Identify and install areas that need dry hydrants, which would be an asset primarily needed in rural areas.
Establish an Outagamie County MABAS division for participating departments. This will start with six fire departments and will expand to include EMS.
Identify high-hazard areas in the community’s risk hazard analysis as part of the MABAS project.
Explore the feasibility of a countywide ordinance to have residential sprinkler systems in areas with municipal water systems.
Continue the fire inspection programs for commercial and residential structures as required by the Wisconsin
Page 84 Fire
Administrative Code. Provide fire mitigation information to those inspected.
Page 85 Severe Temperatures
Severe Temperatures
Characteristics
Temperature extremes can cause disruption of normal activities for the population, property loss and even the loss of life, especially among the more vulnerable members of our population such as children and the elderly.
Physical Characteristics: Heat
Heat emergencies are a result of the combination of very high temperatures and very humid conditions. The Heat Index estimates the relationship between these two conditions and reports them as a danger category, as can be seen in the following table.
Heat Index and Disorders Table Apparent Danger Category Heat Disorders Temperatures [°F] IV Extreme Danger Heatstroke or sunstroke imminent. >130 III Danger Sunstroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion 105-130 likely; heat stroke possible with prolonged exposure and physical activity. II Extreme Caution Sunstroke, heat cramps, and heat exhaustion 90-105 possible with prolonged exposure and physical activity. I Caution Fatigue possible with prolonged exposure and 89-90 physical activity. FEMA, 1997; NWS, 1997 The major risks to people due to extreme heat are:
Heatstroke – a potentially lethal medical emergency where the ability of a person to thermo-regulate is compromised resulting in the rise of the body’s core temperature to above 105°F (Fahrenheit).
Heat Exhaustion – a less threatening medical condition where the victim complains of dizziness, weakness and/or fatigue. The victim may have a normal or slightly elevated temperature and usually can be successfully treated with fluids.
Page 86 Severe Temperatures
Heat Syncope – a sudden “faint” or loss of consciousness usually brought on by exercising in warmer weather than one is accustomed to, usually no lasting effect.
Heat Cramps – muscular cramping brought on by exercising in warmer weather than one is accustomed to, no lasting effect.
Extreme heat conditions may also affect pets and livestock, decreasing agricultural output by the latter. Crops may suffer reduced yield due to extremely hot conditions.
Physical Characteristics: Cold
Wind chill is a relationship between wind and cold that is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin. As the wind speed increases, heat is drawn from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually core body temperature. The following table illustrates this relationship.
National Weather Service: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml
Page 87 Severe Temperatures
The major risks to people due to extreme cold are:
Hypothermia – occurs when, due to exposure to cold, the body is unable to maintain its proper core temperature. It may occur in temperatures above freezing and may lead to death.
Frostbite – describes local cooling, usually to an extremity, which occurs when exposure to cold air or liquid causes constriction of the blood vessels. There are three degrees of frostbite:
o Frostnip – brought on by direct contact with a cold object or exposure to cold air or water. Tissue damage is minor and response to treatment is usually very good.
o Superficial Frostbite – involves the skin and subcutaneous layers.
o Freezing – is deep frostbite in which the skin, subcutaneous layers and deeper structures (e.g., muscles, bone, deep blood vessels, organ membranes) of the body are affected and can become frozen.
Chilblains - lesions that occur from repeated/chronic exposure of bare skin to temperatures of 60°F or lower.
Trench foot – a condition that occurs when the lower extremities remain in cool water for a prolonged period of time.
Frequency of Occurrence
Excessive heat events recorded by the National Weather Service between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010 are outlined below:
Date Location Human Damage Losses Miscellaneous Losses 08/25/1993 Appleton Death: 1 Property/Crop: Heat Injury: 0 $0 06/14/1994 Statewide Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Heat Wave 0 $0
Page 88 Severe Temperatures
Date Location Human Damage Losses Miscellaneous Losses 10/12/1995 Statewide Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Record Warmth 0 $0 11/25/1998 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Record Warmth County 0 $0 02/11/1999 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Record Warmth County 0 $0 07/23/1999 Outagamie Death: 3 Property/Crop: Excessive Heat County Injury: 0 $0
Following is a chart that outlines severe cold events that have been recorded by the National Weather Service in Outagamie County between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010:
Date Location Human Damage Miscellaneous Losses Losses 01/13/1994 Statewide Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Cold 0 $0 02/10/1995 Northern Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Cold 0 $0 12/09/1995 Outagamie Death: 2 Property/Crop: Cold County Injury: 21 $0 01/30/1996 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Extreme Cold County 0 $0 02/01/1996 Outagamie Death: 1 Property/Crop: Extreme Cold County Injury: 0 $0 06/14/1999 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Cold County 0 $0 02/17/2006 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Extreme Cold/ Wind County 0 $0 Chill 01/30/2008 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Extreme Cold/ Wind County 0 $0 Chill 02/10/2008 Outagamie Death/Injury: Property/Crop: Extreme Cold/ Wind County 0 $0 Chill
Temperature extremes, both cold and hot, have a medium likelihood of occurrence in any given year. The loss of property due to temperature extremes is not likely but loss of life or injury to people has a medium likelihood of occurrence.
Page 89 Severe Temperatures
Vulnerability
Vulnerability to temperature extremes is generally assessed on an individual basis with the most vulnerable sections of our community’s population having the greatest risk. These people may include the elderly, the very young and the chronically ill. People from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, especially those listed in the categories above, are even more vulnerable since they are least able to afford the cost of adequate heating or air conditioning systems.
The Outagamie County social services agencies are aware of many of these people who reside in our communities and they, along with the public health department, have plans and access to economic assistance programs to help these people in times of concern.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of severe temperature mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Temperature extremes are difficult for a community to mitigate and the risks are to the health and safety of citizens, animals and crops. There are no strategies that need to be employed to reduce damages to buildings and infrastructure.
Outagamie County Emergency Management participates in the statewide public information campaigns for Winter and Heat Awareness Weeks each year and provides links to personal preparedness information on its website.
County Emergency Management, with the assistance of the municipalities and the Public Health Departments would like to update the Emergency Response Plan to reflect potential locations for warming/cooling shelters around the county that can be opened and supported, per the updated plan, as needed.
Page 90 Storms: Hail
Storms: Hail
Studies of thunderstorms indicate that two conditions are required for hail to develop: sufficiently strong and persistent up-draft velocities and an accumulation of liquid water in a super-cooled state in the upper parts of the storm. Hailstones are formed as water vapor in the warm surface layer rises quickly into the cold upper atmosphere. The water vapor is frozen and begins to fall; as the water falls, it accumulates more water vapor. This cycle continues until there is too much weight for the updraft to support and the frozen water falls too quickly to the ground to melt along the way. The graphic below depicts hail formation:
Source: NWS, January 10, 2003
Injury and loss of life are rarely associated with hailstorms, however extensive property damage is possible, especially to crops.
Physical Characteristics
Hail may be spherical, conical or irregular in shape and can range in size from barely visible in size to grapefruit-sized dimensions. Hailstones equal to or larger than a penny are considered severe.
Page 91 Storms: Hail
Hail Size Estimates Size Inches in Diameter Pea 1/4 inch Marble/mothball 1/2 inch Dime/Penny 3/4 inch Nickel 7/8 inch Quarter 1 inch Ping-Pong Ball 1 1/2 inch Golf Ball 1 3/4 inches Tennis Ball 2 1/2 inches Baseball 2 3/4 inches Tea cup 3 inches Grapefruit 4 inches Softball 4 1/2 inches NWS, January 10, 2003
Hail falls in swaths that can be from twenty to one hundred miles long and from five to thirty miles wide. A hail swath is not a large continuous path of hail but generally consists of a series of hail cells that are produced by individual thunderstorm clouds traveling in the same area.
Frequency of Occurrence
Hailstorms usually occur from May through August and Wisconsin averages two or three hail days per year. According to the Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, from 1982 – 2003, Outagamie County reported 35 hail events but fortunately none have led to loss of life or injury. Outagamie County, as can be seen in the map in Appendix A, has an above average probability of hail occurrence in Wisconsin. The likelihood of damage due to hail is therefore considered moderate.
Most hail damage occurs in rural areas because maturing crops are particularly susceptible to bruising and other damage caused by hailstones. The four months of hailstorm activity correspond to the growing and harvesting seasons for most crops. Following is a table that shows the 72 hail events recorded by the National Weather Service between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010.
Page 92 Storms: Hail
Date Location Miscellaneous 09/08/1960 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 07/04/1968 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 06/12/1971 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 06/23/1973 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 06/14/1974 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 07/30/1977 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 06/14/1980 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 06/14/1980 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 07/04/1980 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 07/04/1980 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 07/05/1980 Outagamie County 1.50 in. 06/28/1987 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 07/09/1988 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 07/09/1988 Outagamie County 0.75 in. 09/02/1988 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 08/12/1989 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 09/15/1990 Outagamie County 0.75 in. 06/17/1992 Outagamie County 1.75 in. 06/25/1992 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 08/01/1992 Outagamie County 1.00 in. 03/29/1998 Appleton 2.00 in. 03/29/1998 Appleton 2.50 in. 03/29/1998 Darboy 1.00 in. 08/23/1998 Hortonville 0.75 in. 08/23/1998 Appleton 1.75 in. 08/23/1998 Little Chute 1.75 in. 08/23/1998 Kaukauna 1.25 in. 08/23/1998 Appleton 2.00 in. 08/23/1998 Appleton 1.50 in. 09/01/1998 Black Creek 0.75 in. 09/26/1998 New London 1.25 in. 09/26/1998 Hortonville 1.75 in. 09/26/1998 Shiocton 1.75 in. 09/26/1998 Hortonville 1.00 in. 09/26/1998 Shiocton 2.00 in. 06/11/1999 Appleton 0.88 in. 08/12/1999 Appleton 0.75 in. 08/12/1999 Kimberly 1.50 in. 08/12/1999 Darboy 2.00 in. 03/08/2000 Medina 2.00 in. 05/12/2000 Appleton 1.00 in. 08/08/2000 Medina 1.00 in. 09/10/2000 Darboy 1.00 in. 05/06/2002 Hortonville 0.75 in. 08/11/2002 Black Creek 0.75 in. 04/15/2003 Shiocton 0.75 in. 04/15/2003 Hortonville 1.25 in. 04/15/2003 Bear Creek 2.00 in. 04/15/2003 Appleton 0.75 in. 07/30/2003 Center Valley 1.00 in. 07/30/2003 Appleton 0.75 in.
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Date Location Miscellaneous 07/30/2003 Darboy 1.00 in. 08/02/2003 Kimberly 0.75 in. 07/13/2004 Appleton 0.75 in. 04/13/2006 Appleton 1.00 in. 07/24/2006 New London 0.75 in. 07/24/2006 Oneida 0.88 in. 07/30/2006 Darboy 0.75 in. 07/30/2006 Kaukauna 0.88 in. 10/02/2006 Dale 0.75 in. 10/02/2006 Appleton 0.75 in. 06/07/2007 ATW Appleton Airport 1.00 in. 01/07/2008 Kaukauna 0.88 in. 06/28/2008 ATW Appleton Airport 0.75 in. 06/28/2008 Appleton 1.50 in. 06/28/2008 Kimberly 0.75 in. 07/16/2008 Dale 0.75 in. 07/16/2008 Kaukauna 0.75 in. 07/21/2008 Greenville 0.88 in. 07/21/2008 Appleton 0.88 in. 08/01/2008 Appleton 0.88 in. 08/01/2008 Appleton 0.75 in.
It should be noted that this table represents only the hail incidents reported to the National Weather Service. One limitation of the source data is that it showed no property or crop loss, death or injury while it is likely that there was some loss incurred.
Vulnerability
Hail, typically occurring in conjunction with thunderstorms and lightning, can damage many types of infrastructure. Public and private vehicles (e.g., campers, boats, cars, trucks) are liable to have their windshields cracked, bodies dented and paint damaged as a result of hail. This damage can occur, depending on the size of the hail, whether the vehicle is moving through the storm or is stationary. Hail on the roadway can also cause vehicles to slide off the road. Vehicle damage and iced roadways are of particular concern when you consider the need for emergency vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks and ambulances to quickly move to assist victims in a disaster.
Hail can also damage critical infrastructure such as street signs, electric lines/poles/transformers, telephone lines and radio communication equipment. These pieces of infrastructure are needed by both first response agencies and the general community
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to ensure safe transport; warm, safe homes and good internal and external communications abilities.
Residential and business properties are liable to receive damage to signs, siding, billboards, trees and windows. Manufactured housing is particularly vulnerable to damage due to its lower construction standards.
Hail can be particularly damaging to agricultural concerns, including farm buildings, standing crops and livestock.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of mitigating for hail is to reduce the amount of financial loss due to these incidents. Insurance is the most widely used adjustment for crop and property damages due to hail. Hail crop insurance is available from two sources: commercial stock and mutual companies and the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Farmers rarely purchase insurance coverage up to the full value of the losses that would result from a severe hailstorm.
The University of Wisconsin Extension - Outagamie County distributes information on various hail insurance options. In the event of major damage, a team composed of county and federal agricultural agency representatives and the county emergency management director have primary responsibility for assessing and documenting hail damage.
Outagamie County Emergency Management provides hail information to the public as part of the spring severe weather awareness week. The office also provides information about hail in their preparedness information. Federal emergency assistance is available in the form of low-interest loans when a Presidential Disaster is declared or when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) declares that a county is eligible for aid. Damage from hailstorms alone is generally not extensive enough to invoke a disaster declaration.
The hazard mitigation strategies listed above primarily involve providing information on safety measures and insurance to the public for agricultural concerns and residential and commercial structures. These measures provide basic safety information but, since there is little one can do to prevent hail damage, these measures will do little to reduce damages to existing or future
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buildings and infrastructure but the recommended insurance may make recovery easier.
Page 96 Storms: Lightning
Storms: Lightning
Lightning is a phenomenon associated with thunderstorms; the action of rising and descending air separates and builds-up positive and negative charge areas. When the built-up energy is discharged between the two areas, lightning is the result.
Formation of Lightning
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research [UCAR]
Lightning may travel from cloud to cloud, cloud to ground, or if there are high structures involved, from ground to cloud.
Physical Characteristics
The temperatures in a lightning stroke rise to 50,000°F (Fahrenheit). The sudden and violent discharge which occurs in the form of a lightning stroke is over in one-millionth of a second.
Lightning damage occurs when humans and animals are electrocuted, fires are caused by a lightning stroke, materials are vaporized along the lightning path or sudden power surges cause damage to electrical or electronic equipment. Lightning, an underestimated hazard, kills more people in an average year than do hurricanes or tornadoes.
Page 97 Storms: Lightning
Frequency of Occurrence
Nationwide, forty-five percent of the people killed by lightning have been outdoors, about sixteen percent were under trees, six percent were on heavy road equipment and thirty-three percent were at various unknown locations. Less than ten percent of the deaths involved individuals inside buildings; these deaths were primarily due to lightning-caused fires.
Wisconsin has a high frequency of property losses due to lightning. Insurance records show that annually one out of every fifty farms has been struck by lightning or had a fire which may have been caused by lightning. Generally, rural fires are more destructive than urban fires because of limited lightning protection devices, isolation, longer response times and inadequate water supplies. Outagamie County has a high probability of lightning occurrence; the likelihood of damage due to lightning is considered medium for the more rural areas of the county and low for the more urban areas of the county.
The following table shows the eight lightning events recorded by the National Weather Service between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010.
Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses 08/28/1995 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 08/28/1995 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 07/18/1996 New London Death: 0 Property: $1K Injury: 1 Crop: $0 06/25/1998 Kaukauna Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 04/03/1999 Kimberly Death: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Injury: 1 08/11/2002 Mackville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 08/03/2003 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 07/16/2008 Combined Locks Death/Injury: 0 Property: $10K Crop: $0
Vulnerability
Lightning, which often occurs in conjunction with thunderstorms and hail, can damage many types of infrastructure, including electric lines/poles/transformers, telephone lines and radio communication equipment. These pieces of infrastructure are needed by both first response agencies and the general community to ensure safe transport; warm, safe homes and good internal and external communications abilities.
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Residential and business properties are liable to receive damage either as a result of a lightning strike causing a fire or other type of direct damage or by overloading electronic equipment (e.g., computers, televisions) that have not been properly connected to a surge protector. The latter concern is especially important to business and government, which in modern America rely on computers and other electronic equipment to manage the large amounts of data manipulated in our information-based economy.
Lightning can damage agricultural assets including farm buildings, standing crops and livestock. It is also one of the major sources of ignition for forest and wildfires.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of lightning mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. The two primary ways to effectively reduce lightning losses are modifying human behavior and protecting structures (e.g., using fire resistant materials in building construction). The use of fire resistant materials will make existing buildings and future construction less likely to catch fire or will minimize fire damage and spread due to lightning strike. Surge protectors limit data losses.
Outagamie County Emergency Management has awareness and educational materials displayed and online that inform the public of safety procedures to follow during a lightning storm. Severe summer weather safety information is also emphasized during the spring annual Tornado Awareness Week.
Page 99 Storms: Thunderstorms
Storms: Thunderstorms
There are three distinct stages of development for thunderstorms (birth, growth, maturity), each of which can be seen in the following schematic.
In the first stage of development, an updraft drives warm air up beyond condensation levels where clouds form.
The second stage of development occurs as levels of water vapor in the expanding cloud rise past saturation and the air cools sufficiently to form solid and liquid particles of water. At this point, rain or snow begins to fall within the cloud.
A thunderstorm's mature stage is marked by a transition of wind direction within the storm cells. The prevailing updraft which initiated the cloud’s growth is joined by a downdraft generated by precipitation. Lightning may occur soon after precipitation begins. Hail and tornadoes may also develop during this stage.
National Weather Service - Flagstaff
Physical Characteristics
A thunderstorm often is born, grows, reaches maturity and dies in a thirty-minute period. The individual thunderstorm cell often travels between thirty and fifty miles per hour. Strong frontal systems may create one squall line after another, each composed of many
Page 100 Storms: Thunderstorms
individual thunderstorm cells. These fronts can often be tracked across the state from west to east with a constant cycle of birth, growth, maturity and death of individual thunderstorm cells.
Frequency of Occurrence
Thunderstorm frequency is measured as the number of days per year with one or more incidents. There are approximately 100,000 thunderstorms in the United States every year and approximately 10% of those are considered severe (i.e., has at least ¾” hail, winds of at least 58 mph or a tornado). Most Wisconsin counties, including Outagamie County, average between 30 and 40 thunderstorm days per year although a portion of southwestern and south-central Wisconsin average 40 to 50 thunderstorm days per year. In Outagamie County there are typically several severe thunderstorms per year. Thunderstorms can occur throughout the year with the highest frequency during the months of May through September. The majority of storms occur between the hours of noon and midnight.
The probability of thunderstorms occurring in Outagamie County is high. Damage from thunderstorms usually is a result of the hail, lightning, winds and/or flash flooding that can occur as part of the storm. The likelihood of damage from these causes is in discussed in the appropriate chapters.
The following chart lists the 135 thunderstorms and high wind events that have been recorded in Outagamie County by the National Weather Service between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010.
Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 05/06/1959 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/01/1960 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 09/08/1960 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 05/14/1961 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/08/1963 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/09/1967 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/04/1968 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 04/22/1970 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 05/31/1970 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/17/1970 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/16/1971 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/03/1974 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/21/1975 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind
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06/12/1976 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/12/1976 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/12/1976 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/12/1976 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/07/1978 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/05/1980 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 61 kts 07/20/1980 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 61 kts 07/20/1980 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 61 kts 07/20/1980 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 61 kts 08/02/1982 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/03/1982 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/03/1982 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/03/1982 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/14/1983 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/03/1983 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/03/1983 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/19/1983 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/19/1983 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/29/1984 Outagamie County Death: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 75 Injury: 1 kts 08/29/1984 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/12/1985 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/20/1987 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/20/1987 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/20/1987 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 07/20/1987 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 05/08/1988 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/22/1988 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/17/1988 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 08/17/1988 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 05/24/1989 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 76 kts 05/24/1989 Outagamie County Death: 1 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind Injury: 5 05/24/1989 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/02/1990 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 09/14/1990 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 09/15/1990 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 04/29/1991 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 05/16/1992 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 05/16/1992 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/17/1992 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 11/18/1994 Outagamie County Death: 0 Property: $10K High Wind 48 Injury: 1 Crop: $0 12/05/1995 East Central Death/Injury: 0 Property: $5K High Winds Wisconsin Crop: $0 07/18/1996 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $3K Tstm Wind
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Crop: $0 08/07/1996 Shiocton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $1K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 08/07/1996 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 04/06/1997 Outagamie County Death: 1 Property: $149K High Wind Injury: 0 Crop: $0 07/16/1997 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 55 kts 07/16/1997 Shiocton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $2K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 07/16/1997 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 61 kts 07/16/1997 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $100K Tstm Wind 71 Crop: $0 kts 07/27/1997 Medina Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 03/09/1998 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property: $15K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 05/15/1998 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $3K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 05/15/1998 Kaukauna Death/Injury: 0 Property: $2K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 05/31/1998 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $4K Tstm Wind 55 Crop: $0 kts 05/31/1998 Kaukauna Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 05/31/1998 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 06/24/1998 Appleton Airport Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 55 kts 06/26/1998 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $1K Tstm Wind Crop: $0 06/27/1998 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property: $30K Tstm Wind 61 Crop: $0 kts 08/23/1998 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 11/10/1998 Outagamie County Death: 1 Property: $1M Tstm Wind 63 Injury: 1 Crop: $0 kts 03/17/1999 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 06/06/1999 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 06/06/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $14K Tstm Wind 52 Crop: $0 kts 06/06/1999 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 54 kts. 06/06/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 57 kts. 06/06/1999 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 54 kts. 06/10/1999 Little Chute Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts. 07/30/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50
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kts. 08/12/1999 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts. 08/12/1999 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 75 kts. 08/12/1999 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 71 kts. 08/12/1999 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 63 kts. 12/25/1999 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 03/25/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 04/05/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 04/20/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 06/21/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 08/14/2000 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 09/10/2000 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 63 kts 02/25/2001 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Wind 04/07/2001 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 57 kts 04/12/2001 Hortonville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 04/12/2001 Black Creek Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 04/23/2001 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 04/23/2001 Freedom Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 06/11/2001 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $3.5 MK Tstm Wind 67 Crop: $200K kts 08/12/2001 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 09/07/2001 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 55 kts 10/25/2001 Outagamie County Death: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind Injury: 1 12/05/2001 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 02/11/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 03/09/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 03/09/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 High Wind 54 kts 04/18/2002 New London Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 05/09/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 07/30/2002 Kimberly Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 08/11/2002 Mackville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 10/04/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Strong Wind 07/04/2003 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 56 kts 07/30/2003 Center Valley Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 55
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kts 08/28/2003 Seymour Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 62 kts 04/18/2004 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 High Wind 54 kts 09/15/2004 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property: $3K Strong Wind Crop: $0 40 kts 05/09/2005 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 06/05/2005 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 06/05/2005 New London Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 06/13/2005 Kimberly Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 09/13/2005 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property: $1.1M Tstm Wind 65 Crop: $0 kts 09/13/2005 Freedom Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 65 kts 11/13/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property: $3K High Wind 57 Crop: $0 kts 02/17/2006 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Extreme Cold/wind Chill 07/30/2006 Appleton Airport Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 55 kts 07/30/2006 Darboy Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 08/28/2007 Black Creek Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 01/30/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Extreme Cold/wind Chill 02/10/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Extreme Cold/wind Chill 04/25/2008 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 04/25/2008 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts 04/25/2008 Appleton Airport Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 52 kts 07/12/2008 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property : 10K Tstm Wind 61 Crop: $0 kts 07/21/2008 Greenville Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Tstm Wind 50 kts
Vulnerability
Thunderstorms, which often produce hail and lightning and may occasionally spawn tornadoes, high wind storms or flash flooding,
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can damage many types of infrastructure. Outagamie County’s thunderstorm vulnerabilities due to associated hail, lightning, winds and flood waters are discussed in the other hazard chapters of this plan.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of thunderstorm mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Outagamie County Emergency Management has developed severe weather safety information that it disseminates to the public in a display rack and online with the goal of protecting the lives and property of citizens. During Tornado Awareness Week, there is extensive media coverage of safety tips. Additionally, the department assists the National Weather Service (NWS) in conducting tornado spotter training programs and in organizing local tornado spotter networks.
The county and its municipalities will also assist community event planners, the UW Campus and residences for senior citizens seeking assistance regarding safety issues and emergency planning.
The damage to buildings and infrastructure in a thunderstorm is generally caused by components of the storm such as hail, flooding, lightning or wind. A discussion of strategies to reduce effects on existing and future buildings and infrastructure is discussed in the chapters that discuss each of these components in detail.
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Storms: Tornadoes and High Winds
A tornado is a violently rotating funnel-shaped column of air. The lower end of the column may or may not touch the ground. Average winds in the tornado are between 173 and 250 miles per hour but winds can exceed 300 miles per hour. It should also be noted that straight-line winds may reach the same speeds and achieve the same destructive force as a tornado.
A derecho is a widespread, long-lived, violent, convectively-induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms; this is similar to a gust front except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the "gust" front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially July, in the northern hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours.
The traditional criteria that distinguish a derecho from a severe thunderstorm are sustained winds of 58 mph during the storm as opposed to gusts, high and/or rapidly increasing forward speed and geographic extent (typically 250 nautical miles in length). In addition, they have a distinctive appearance on radar (bow echo); several unique features, such as the rear inflow notch and bookend vortex and usually manifest two or more downbursts. There are three types of derechos:
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Serial: Multiple bow echoes embedded in a massive squall line typically around 250 miles long. This type of derecho is usually associated with a very deep low. Also because of embedded supercells, tornadoes can easily spin out of these types of derechos.
Progressive: A small line of thunderstorms take the bow- shape and can travel for hundreds of miles.
Hybrid: Has characteristics of a serial and progressive derechos. Hybrid derechos are associated with a deep low like serial derechos but are relatively small in size like progressive derechos.
Serial Derecho Progressive Derecho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derecho
Physical Characteristics
Tornadoes are visible because low atmospheric pressure in the vortex leads to cooling of the air by expansion and to condensation and formation of water droplets. They are also visible as a result of the airborne debris and dust in its high winds. Wind and pressure differential are believed to account for ninety percent of tornado damage in most cases. Because tornadoes are associated with storm systems, they usually are accompanied by hail, torrential rain and intense lightning.
Tornadoes typically produce damage in an area that does not exceed one-fourth mile in width or sixteen miles in length. Tornadoes with track lengths greater than 150 miles have been reported although such tornadoes are rare.
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Tornado damage severity is measured by the Fujita Tornado Scale, which assigns an “F” (“Fujita”) value from 0 – 5 to denote the wind speed.
The Fujita Tornado Scale Category Wind Speed Description of Damage F0 40-72 mph Light damage. Some damage to chimneys; break branches off trees; push over shallow-rooted trees; damage to sign boards. F1 73-112 mph Moderate damage. The lower limit is the beginning of hurricane speed. Roof surfaces peeled off; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; moving autos pushed off roads. F2 113-157 mph Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated. F3 158-206 mph Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; cars lifted off ground and thrown. F4 207-260 mph Devastating damage. Well-constructed houses leveled; structures with weak foundations blown off; cars thrown and large missiles generated. F5 261-318 mph Incredible damage. Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distance to disintegrate; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100-yards; trees debarked. FEMA, 1997
On 1 February 2007, the National Weather Service began rating tornadoes using the EF-scale. It is considerably more complicated than the F-scale and it will allow surveyors to create more precise assessments of tornado severity. Below is a comparison between the Fujita Scale and the EF Scale:
Fujita Scale Derived EF Scale Operational EF Scale F Fastest ¼ 3 Second EF 3 Second EF Number 3 Second Number mile (mph) Gust (mph) Number Gust (mph) Gust (mph) 0 40-72 45-78 0 65-85 0 65-85 1 73-112 79-117 1 86-109 1 86-110 2 113-157 118-161 2 110-137 2 111-135 3 158-207 162-209 3 138-167 3 136-165 4 208-260 210-261 4 168-199 4 166-200 5 261-318 262-317 5 200-234 5 Over 200
Downburst Characteristics
Downburst damage is often highly localized but resembles damage caused by a tornado. In some cases, even an experienced investigator cannot identify the nature of a storm without mapping the direction of the damaging winds over a large area. There are significant interactions between tornadoes and nearby downbursts.
A classic downburst example occurred on 4 July 1977 when a severe thunderstorm moved across Northern Wisconsin. Extensive
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areas of tree and property damage, somewhat like a tornado, were reported. After an aerial survey was completed to map both direction and F-scale intensity of the damaging winds it was determined that no evidence of a tornado was found anywhere within the path of the damage swath, which was 166 miles long and 17 miles wide. The survey revealed that there were scattered local centers from which straight-line winds diverged outward. These local wind systems were identified as downbursts with at least 25 specific locations recognized by the low-flying aircraft.
Frequency of Occurrence
Wisconsin lies along the northern edge of the nation's tornado belt, which extends north-eastward from Oklahoma into Iowa and across to Michigan and Ohio. Winter, spring and fall tornadoes are more likely to occur in southern Wisconsin, including Outagamie County, than in northern counties.
Wisconsin's tornado season runs from the beginning of April through September with the most severe tornadoes typically occurring in April, May and June. Tornadoes have, however, occurred in Wisconsin during every month except February. Many tornadoes strike in late afternoon or early evening but they do occur at other times. Deaths, injuries and personal property damage have occurred and will continue to occur in Wisconsin.
According to the National Weather Service, Outagamie County had six funnel clouds and 14 tornadoes between 1 January 1950 and 30 June 2010. Between these dates, the county had no deaths, 10 injuries and approximately $15,176,000 in damages due to these storms. The probability of Outagamie County being struck by a tornado in the future is high and the likelihood of damage from future tornadoes is also high. All parts of Outagamie County are equally susceptible to tornadoes.
Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 05/06/1959 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $25K F2 County Crop: $0 08/28/1959 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 F County 08/05/1968 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $250K F1 County Crop: $0 08/16/1968 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $25K F2 County Crop: $0 06/26/1969 Outagamie Death: 0 Property: $2.5M F3 County Injury: 1 Crop: $0
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Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 12/01/1970 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $2.5M F3 County Crop: $0 07/12/1973 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $25K F1 County Crop: $0 06/13/1976 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $25K F1 County Crop: $0 05/30/1980 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $25K F1 County Crop: $0 05/06/1982 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $250K F2 County Crop: $0 04/27/1984 Outagamie Death: 0 Property: $2.5M F4 County Injury: 9 Crop: $0 05/16/1992 Outagamie Death/Injury: 0 Property: $250K F1 County Crop: $0 05/30/2002 Five Corners Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud 06/23/2004 Little Chute Death/Injury: 0 Property: $6.8M F1 Crop: $0 10/23/2004 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud 10/23/2004 Kimberly Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud 06/13/2005 Black Creek Death/Injury: 0 Property: $1K F0 Crop: $0 06/18/2006 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud 07/30/2006 Appleton Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud 07/07/2008 Combined Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Funnel Cloud Locks
Vulnerability
Injury to people is a primary concern in tornado and high wind events. Two of the highest risk places are mobile home parks and campgrounds; Outagamie County has several of each type of property. Both have high concentrations of people in a small area, generally have structures that provide less protection than standard construction homes generally do not provide storm shelters. Other places of concern during these types of events include critical emergency facilities such as hospitals and public works/highway garages, police stations and fire departments, which contain equipment and services needed by the public after a tornado.
Schools, in addition to holding children, are the major type of structure used as community disaster shelters and their loss might therefore affect the community on several levels (e.g., the death or injury of children, the loss of a community housing shelter). School gymnasiums are often the specific location of the community shelter but they are especially vulnerable in tornadoes because the large-span roof structure is often not adequately supported.
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Community infrastructure such as power lines, telephone lines, radio towers and street signs are often vulnerable to damage from tornadoes and high winds and can be expensive to replace. The loss of radio towers that hold public safety communications repeaters can adversely impact the ability of first responders to mount an effective response; damage to towers that hold public media equipment may adversely impact the ability to distribute adequate public information.
Residential property is likely to have siding and roofing materials removed, windows broken from flying debris and garages blown down due to light construction techniques. Perhaps one of the largest types of loss on private property is due to tree damage, which is generally not covered by federal disaster assistance.
Business properties are at risk for having damage to infrastructure including signs, windows, siding and billboards. Agricultural buildings, such as barns and silos, are also generally not constructed in a manner that makes them wind resistant, which can lead to the loss of livestock and harvest. Standing crops are also at risk from high winds and tornadoes.
The Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation Plan estimated tornado losses for Outagamie County. The table below shows the reported costs due to tornado damages plus the state’s estimates of future risk. When sorted for total future risk, Outagamie County ranks 6th (of 72 counties in Wisconsin.) When sorted for structural and contents damages Outagamie County ranks 9th and when sorted for injury and mortality damages Outagamie County ranks 6th.
Manufactured Non-Engineered Housing Wood Frame Combined Injury and Mortality Damages $834,755 $834,755 $834,755 Structural and Contents Damage $3,946 $393,791 $397,737 Total Annual Damage $838,699 $29,253,640 $30,092,339 Total Future Risk $10,408,259 $363,037,672 $373,445,931
The Wisconsin Hazard Mitigation Plan also estimated losses for Outagamie County from straight-line winds. The table below shows the reported costs due to straight-line wind damage plus the state’s
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estimates of future risk. When sorted for total future risk, Outagamie County ranks 7th. When sorted for either structural and contents damages Outagamie County ranks 9th and when sorted for injury and mortality damages, Outagamie County ranks 6th.
Manufactured Non-Engineered Housing Wood Frame Combined Injury and Mortality Damages $194,839 $3,587,203 $3,782,042 Structural and Contents Damage $298,211 $36,875,682 $37,173,893 Total Annual Damage $493,050 $6,118,754 $40,955,936 Total Future Risk $6,118,754 $502,144,405 $508,263,160
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of tornado and high wind mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Outagamie County has a history of damage to buildings and infrastructure due to tornadoes and high winds. Some strategies below will deal with public information and alert and notification while others will enable the community to make current and future buildings and infrastructure more disaster- resistant by enacting more “bricks and mortar” solutions.
An effective warning system is the single most important resource for alerting the public to a tornado hazard, which is critical to the main goal of saving lives and reducing property losses. Forecasting of tornadoes is difficult, however, because of the suddenness of their onset, their relatively short duration, the extreme variability of a tornado striking area, limited knowledge of tornado dynamics and the limitations of the weather observation system. Tornado sirens are activated by the county. The Town of Buchanan would like to evaluate adding sirens to the east side of town. The county and its municipalities would also like to explore upgrading the warning system for storms/tornadoes to a voice- capable digital siren at Plamann Park, USA Sports and Mosquito Hill. Currently there are maintenance people on 12 hours per day and seven days per week to personally notify citizens. The rest of the time is not covered. Tornado siren coverage is spotty in these recreational areas as well.
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Emergency Management promotes the use of NOAA weather radios for public alert and notification. The office programs and sells the NOAA weather radios for the public to purchase. The office also continues to evaluate various technologies to determine if they can be effectively integrated into the county’s alert and notification systems.
During the past several years, there has been a statewide Tornado Awareness Week in late March or April. The week includes a siren test during the school/business day and Outagamie County participates in an extra evening drill to allow families to practice their plans. Media information packets are distributed to reemphasize and alert the public to tornado warning procedures. Outagamie County actively promotes tornado safety public information as well as other summer severe weather public awareness and educational efforts, including applicable links on the county website. Outagamie County also assists the National Weather Service with sponsoring tornado spotter training and in organizing local tornado spotter networks.
As part of the tornado preparedness program, the county plans to work with the municipalities to identify high hazard areas and to put in shelters where feasible. One potential location for review is the Thousand Island Nature Center. Other areas of concern are large sporting and recreational areas. The county would like to identify these areas and survey their alerting and notification capabilities.
Most municipalities in Outagamie County have adopted the state’s uniform building codes. Outagamie County would like to encourage the enforcement of these local building codes that improve a current or future structure’s ability to withstand greater wind velocities. This should be facilitated by the fact that in late 2003, the Governor signed a law requiring municipalities to use a uniform building code inspector.
The county recognizes that mobile home parks and campgrounds are particularly vulnerable locations for people and property during a tornado. To help mitigate the danger, the county is considering projects that include:
Providing information to builders and owners of manufactured and mobile homes regarding the use of tie-downs with ground anchors via informational links on the county website. This relatively inexpensive strategy reduces the damage to these homes in lower F-scale tornadoes.
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Provide information to mobile home park owners and park/campground operators about providing permanent storm shelters. The U. S. Department of Commerce Community Development Block Grants may be an avenue to achieve the necessary funding. Finally, the county and its municipalities would like to establish procedures for dealing with the disposal of the larger amounts of debris generated after storms.
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Storms: Winter
Due to its position along the northern edge of the United States, Wisconsin, including Outagamie County, is highly susceptible to a variety of winter weather storm phenomena.
Physical Characteristics
The National Weather Service descriptions of winter storm elements are:
Heavy snowfall - Accumulation of six or more inches of snow in a 12-hour period or eight or more inches in a 24-hour period. Blizzard - An occurrence of sustained wind speeds in excess of 35 miles per hour (mph) accompanied by heavy snowfall or large amounts of blowing or drifting snow. Ice storm - An occurrence of rain falling from warmer upper layers of the atmosphere to the colder ground, freezing upon contact with the ground and exposed objects near the ground. Freezing drizzle/freezing rain - Effect of drizzle or rain freezing upon impact on objects with a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Sleet - Solid grains or pellets of ice formed by the freezing of raindrops or the refreezing of largely melted snowflakes. This ice does not cling to surfaces. Wind chill - An apparent temperature that incorporates the combined effect of wind and low air temperatures on exposed skin.
In Wisconsin, the winter storm season generally runs from November through March and Wisconsin residents are most familiar with heavy snowstorms, blizzards, sleet and ice storms. The majority of Wisconsin snowfalls are between one and three inches per occurrence, although heavy snowfalls that produce at least ten inches may occur four or five times per season. Northwestern Wisconsin encounters more blizzards than the southeastern portions of the state.
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Damage from ice storms can occur when more than half an inch of rain freezes on trees and utility wires, especially if the rain is accompanied by high winds. Another danger comes from accumulation of frozen rain pellets on the ground during a sleet storm, which can make driving hazardous.
Frequency of Occurrence
Annual snowfall in Wisconsin varies between thirty inches in southern counties to one hundred inches in the north. Outagamie County averages approximately 45 inches of snow annually. Storm tracks originating in the southern Rockies or Plains states that move northeastward produce the heaviest precipitation, usually six to twelve inches. Low- pressure systems originating in the northwest (Alberta) tend to produce only light snowfalls of two to four inches. Snowfalls associated with Alberta lows occur more frequently with colder weather.
Although massive blizzards are rare in Wisconsin, blizzard-like conditions often exist during heavy snowstorms when gusty winds cause blowing and drifting of snow. Near blizzard conditions existed in Wisconsin in January 1979 when record snowfalls were recorded in many areas and wind speeds gusted to over thirty miles per hour.
Both ice and sleet storms can occur at any time throughout the winter season from November to April. Ice storms of disastrous proportions occurred in central Wisconsin in February 1922 and in southern Wisconsin in March 1976. A Presidential Disaster Declaration occurred as a result of the 1976 storm. Utility crews
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from surrounding states were called in to restore power, which was off for up to ten days in some areas. Other storms of lesser magnitude caused power outages and treacherous highway conditions.
The probability that there will be severe winter storms in Outagamie County is medium and the likelihood that those storms will cause significant damage is also medium. The following table details Outagamie County’s 49 winter storm statistics (i.e., snow and ice events) as reported by the National Weather Service including human loss and injury and property damage estimates from 1 January 1950 through 30 June 2010.
Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 01/13/1993 Statewide Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 01/05/1994 Central And Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow Southern 01/26/1994 All But Far Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow/ice Northwest Storm 03/06/1995 Statewide Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 11/26/1995 Central And Death: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow Southern Injury: 1 12/13/1995 Central Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Ice Storm 01/25/1996 Outagamie CountyDeath/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 01/26/1996 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 02/06/1996 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Freezing Rain 02/07/1996 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Freezing Rain 02/26/1996 Outagamie County Death: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Ice Storm Injury: 1 04/14/1996 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 12/23/1996 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/04/1997 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/21/1997 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 03/13/1997 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 01/08/1998 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/14/1998 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 03/08/1998 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/02/1999 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/22/1999 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Glaze 01/03/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/09/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Glaze 01/12/2000 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/08/2001 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/31/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/01/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/20/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 03/02/2002 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/31/2003 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/05/2004 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow
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Date Location Human Losses Damage Losses Miscellaneous 12/20/2004 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/01/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Ice Storm 01/21/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 02/20/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 03/18/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 12/14/2005 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/16/2006 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 02/24/2007 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 03/01/2007 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 04/11/2007 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 12/01/2007 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 01/11/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Weather 01/29/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 02/17/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 12/08/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 12/19/2008 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Heavy Snow 02/26/2009 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 03/08/2009 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm 12/8/09 Outagamie County Death/Injury: 0 Property/Crop: $0 Winter Storm
Vulnerability
Winter storms present a serious threat to the health and safety of affected citizens and can result in significant damage to property. Heavy snow or accumulated ice can cause the structural collapse of homes, commercial buildings and agricultural structures; down power lines or isolate people from assistance or services by impeding transportation by the general public, emergency responders and public transportation resources.
The loss of electrical service and/or the blocking of transportation routes can adversely affect the ability of commercial enterprises to conduct business. This economic injury may be felt by both the business owner and employees unable to work during this period.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of winter storm mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Communities prepare for severe winter weather by ensuring that plowing and sanding equipment is operational and available to handle potential emergencies. Funding is budgeted for the overtime hours of extra personnel but in a large emergency this may not be adequate. Redundant communication modes (e.g.,
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radio, telephone) exist between government, police, fire, EMS, hospitals and highway departments. The Outagamie County Emergency Response Plan provides for coordination of public safety support agencies such as the American Red Cross and for resource acquisitions during winter emergencies.
Winter safety information is prepared and distributed to the media and the public by the Outagamie County Emergency Management Office during Winter Awareness Week in November. Preparedness information is also available from display racks in the courthouse and the website. During a storm, the public is advised to monitor local radio, television and NOAA weather alert radios for up-to-date forecasts.
Other projects that Outagamie County and its municipalities would like to explore include:
Installing snow fencing in wind tunnel areas around the county.
Increasing signage to include potentially adding a message board for the Highway 441 bridge and the College Avenue bridge west of Lindwood Street (at Lawe Street).
Installing a Road Weather Information System (RWIS) monitoring system stations for Highway 41. These stations report air and bridge/road deck temperature and wind speed and direction.
The hazard mitigation strategies listed above primarily involve providing information on general safety measures to the public. These measures provide basic safety information but, since the response to winter storms is primarily a government and/or corporate function comprised of tasks such as clearing roads of snow and ice and repairing downed utility lines, there are few measures that can be employed to reduce damages to existing or future buildings and infrastructure.
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Utility Failure
A utility emergency is a disruption to the building services, usually defined as electrical power, water, natural gas and/or sewage, that restricts the ability of people to safely occupy the facility. Electrical power or natural gas outages are often caused by a fuel shortage caused by an oil embargo, power failure or natural disaster. Disruptions to the water and sewage systems are often the direct result of a natural disaster (e.g., flooding) or are indirect losses due to another failure (e.g., a power outage disrupts the pumping of water and/or sewage).
Physical Characteristics
Modern society is very dependent on electrical power for normal living and is therefore quite disrupted by loss of power. Most power outages last about fifteen minutes to one hour. If longer, the utilities will inform the local news media of the anticipated duration of the outage.
WE Energies provides electricity and natural gas to the majority of Outagamie County. Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPSC) provides electric power to the Village of Wrightstown, the Towns of Deer Creek, Kaukauna, Oneida and Seymour and part of the Town of Buchanan. Kaukauna Electric and Water Utility generates electric power for the City of Kaukauna, the Villages of Combined Locks and Little Chute, the Towns of Oneida, Holland, Wrightstown, Freedom, Kaukauna and part of the Town of Buchanan. The newest addition to Outagamie County’s energy picture is the Fox Energy Center, which is owned by Calpine Corporation. This is a natural gas-based electric peaking plant.
Electrical substation
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Thunderstorms with lightning are a possible cause of power failure. Fuel shortages can be caused by localized imbalances in supply. Labor strikes, severe cold weather or snowstorms also can cause a local shortage.
The water and sewage systems are most often a function of a municipal system and are usually found in more urbanized areas. Rural water is often provided by individual wells found on each property and sewage is managed by a septic system, also found on each individual property. Both municipal and individual systems are vulnerable to flooding, which can overwhelm the sewage systems and contaminate both municipal and private wells. Both types of systems are also vulnerable to electrical power loss because the electrical system powers the pumps and lift stations that move and treat the water and sewage.
Frequency of Occurrence
Outagamie County has several short power outages (i.e., lasting less than six hours) per year but does not have a history of extended power outages. The possibility always exists that a man- made or natural disaster could affect the power system for an extended period of time.
In general, Outagamie County has a medium likelihood of utility failures with a low risk of damage, death or injury due to a loss. Obviously, power outages are more likely to occur and the severity is greater in areas of higher human population (i.e., urban areas) but the loss of power to rural customers, while affecting fewer people, generally lasts longer and can be as life-threatening, especially if a person with special needs (e.g., the elderly, the young, those on special medical equipment) is involved.
Vulnerability
The failure of a utility to function can have wide-ranging impact in Outagamie County. People, especially special needs populations, in residential properties may not be able to safely live in their homes because of inadequate heat or water, the inability to cook, the inability to manage wastes, etc. Businesses, including the utilities themselves, may lose money due to the inability to produce goods and services for which they can bill. There are few back-up generators on sewage lift stations in Outagamie County, which can
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compound the safety issues for residents. Other utilities may be non-operational due to damaged infrastructure, which can be very expensive to replace and/or repair. Critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and governmental facilities may not be able to operate or may have to operate at a reduced capacity due to the loss of utility services. EPCRA facilities may not be able to adequately control and contain their hazardous materials and there may be a release of that can impact people and/or the environment.
Agricultural assets may be impacted by the loss of utilities because animals require fresh water, extreme temperatures reduce the production volume of and products such as milk may not be able to be properly stored. Modern farms also require on a large amount of automation for feeding, watering and managing the wastes of the facility.
Finally, transportation on roadways may become unsafe due to the loss of directional and street lights.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of utility failure mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property due to these events. Outagamie County has worked directly with the utility companies and emergency management responders in formulating emergency management plans. During a fuel or power shortage, residents, schools, industry and businesses will be asked to take measures to conserve fuel. If the fuel shortage reaches a critical stage, all non- essential facilities will be closed and contingency plans will be activated.
Countywide, there are several project proposals that could serve to make the county more resistant to the effects of a utility disruption including:
Outagamie County Emergency Management - Provide information to residents on preparedness planning for utility failures on the county website.
Outagamie County Emergency Management - Conduct an analysis of the county’s critical facilities to determine which have back-up power.
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Outagamie County Public Health - Place the vaccine refrigerators in the public health building on backup power with temperature alarms.
Outagamie County Facilities and MIS - Install a back-up generator for the computer and HVAC systems for the county computer server room. The core of many of the government’s services is the data that they manage. While the county may have to temporarily suspend some services if the power goes out to the individual service agencies, the loss of the core systems to computer damage due to humidity, power surges, etc. would be a critical, long-term and expensive loss to the county.
City of Appleton - Purchase back-up generators for the sewage lift stations
City of Appleton - Install an independent generator for City Hall.
Town of Buchanan - Upgrade the Town EOC by installing a generator in the Town Hall. This project was completed on schedule in 2009.
Town of Center - Perform a study on upgrading (including electrical service) the Town Hall so that it may serve as a shelter.
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Non-Natural Disasters
As the communities in Outagamie County completed their risk assessments, some non-natural disasters came to light. The communities decided to include an additional chapter in this plan so that all of their concerns, and their mitigation planning for these concerns, is represented in one location for reference and to guide actions throughout the plan’s lifespan. Issues that will be addressed in this chapter include Airplane Accidents, Hazardous Materials Spills, Manure Spills, Mass Casualty Incidents, Public Health Incidents and Terrorism/Intentional Acts of Violence.
Airplane Accidents
The Outagamie County Airport is owned and operated by Outagamie County and serves the Fox Cities, the third largest metropolitan area in Wisconsin. According to the 2009 Economic Impact study, the airport was responsible for:
$407.5 million in direct economic sales
2,642 jobs
$119.9 million in direct wages to the region and state economy
The airport plays a critical role in fostering business growth and economic development in the region. It is the fourth largest airport in Wisconsin, handling over 572,000 passengers in 2006 and 10 million pounds of freight annually. The airport is served by four airlines: Allegiant, Delta, Midwest/Frontier and United Airlines (Outagamie County Comprehensive Plan, 2008). Realizing the need for such a vital asset, over $18 million in federal, state and local funds have been spent on improvements at the airport to preserve existing facilities, enhance safety and meet the increasing demand for commercial service air travel and support economic growth and development in the region.
http://www.atwairport.com/about-us
Physical Characteristics
The Outagamie County Airport is a regional airport that offers commercial flights from Allegiant Air, Delta, Midwest Airlines and United, enabling local
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travelers a convenient way to access this major transportation mode. The airport also offers general aviation services. Aircraft owners can choose to rent airport-owned hangars or can lease fully developed land with access to water, sewer, electric and natural gas to build personal hangars. Amenities include a pilot's lounge with computer/internet access, restrooms and an airplane washing station.
Frequency of Occurrence
Aircraft accidents are very rare and may be caused by bad weather, mechanical failure, human error or an intentional act/terrorism. In general, Outagamie County has a very low likelihood of an aircraft accident with a very high risk of damage, death or injury due if an incident does occur.
Vulnerability
Aircraft accidents are very rare but when they do occur, they tend to very costly in terms of lost life, injuries, property damage and response costs, with the costs proportionally increasing as the size of the aircraft increases. An aircraft accident occurring on the grounds of the airport can be damaging and lead to a large loss but an aircraft crashing into an urban area can compound the losses. Outagamie County is in commercial aircraft flight paths.
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http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/a/airplane_accidents_and_incidents/index.html
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of aircraft accident mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property and to reduce environmental damage due to these events. Hazard mitigation strategies include supporting ongoing fire department and EMS training for airplane accidents. The county response agencies want to include trainings in the near future to include managing the hazards of the explosive parachutes that are in Cessna aircraft tails.
Hazardous Materials Incidents
Outagamie County is concerned about the possibility of hazardous materials incidents from:
Fixed Facility - A facility containing hazardous substances when either accidental or intentionally released cause concern for life safety and environment containment. Pipeline - Accidental or intentional release of natural gas from the pipeline resulting in a potential evacuation or explosion. Railway - Train derailment, train/vehicle collision or intentional release causing ruptured rail cars to release hazardous substances resulting in life safety and environmental concerns. Roadway - Vehicle accident involving hazardous chemicals in transport on the roadway resulting in life safety and environmental concerns.
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Physical Characteristics
Each Wisconsin County is designated as an emergency planning district and has a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) to administer the local hazardous chemical planning program under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act, also known as SARA Title III. The Outagamie County LEPC was established in 1989.
The Outagamie County LEPC membership includes local and state elected officials, members of emergency response agencies (EMS, fire, hazardous materials team, law enforcement, health, etc.), emergency management and hospitals along with representatives from transportation, broadcast and print media, community groups and Representatives of Facilities Subject to SARA Title III. The Outagamie County Executive appoints the members who meet regularly at various locations in the community.
At Outagamie County LEPC meetings, members representing emergency responders, industry and the community actively participate in the emergency planning process for chemicals present on-site at facilities, exchanging ideas and information that contribute to effective, safe emergency planning for accidental chemical releases.
The Emergency Management Deputy Director updates each plan every year and creates new plans for new reporting facilities. After the plan is created it is review by the Outagamie County LEPC Off-site Committee. The plan addresses chemicals stored on site, storage practices and safety, chemical protection and monitoring systems, facility on-site emergency procedures and available facility emergency equipment. Vulnerability zones are created describing the worst case scenario for a chemical release. Specifically, ensuring to the extent possible the safety of emergency responders, employees and the community are a priority during this review process.
http://www.ocemready.org/index.htm
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Frequency of Occurrence
Good communication and preparedness (i.e., planning, training and exercising) measures between the stakeholders in the hazardous materials field help to ensure that hazardous materials events are not common but these incidents can and do occur. In general, Outagamie County has a medium likelihood of an hazardous materials incident from any mode with a medium to high risk of damage, death or injury (based on the type of incident, the type and amount of chemical and other incident- variable factors) due if an incident does occur.
Vulnerability
Hazardous materials incidents can impact much of the county because it is crossed by roadways, pipelines and railway corridors that run through residential, agricultural and commercial neighborhoods. Fixed facilities, while concentrated in business areas, can also be found in residential and agricultural areas. The spill of a hazardous material can impact human life as well as environmental life (e.g., plants, animals, insects) and the environmental components (e.g., soils, water) that come into contact with the material. The material may also contaminate structures (e.g., buildings roads) and require a high level of community response and recovery, and the costs associated with them, to rectify the situation.
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Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of hazardous materials incident mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives and property and to reduce environmental damage due to these incidents. Hazard mitigation strategies include updating the LEPC off-site plans to ensure thoroughness and currency and continuing annual training programs for all of the county’s first response agencies on hazardous materials topics. For 2010, the topic was EPA/DNR roles in hazmat response and for 2011 the topic is pipeline safety. It should also be noted that 100% of the county’s fixed facility plans are updated annually.
Manure Spill Incidents
Outagamie County is concerned about the possibility of a manure spill, which is defined as a release of manure from a manure holding tank (pit) or while in transport to a field, which could potentially contaminate groundwater or surface water. Contaminated groundwater could potentially impact municipal and private drinking water wells.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/20387582@N02/3239653560/
Physical Characteristics
Liquid manure stored in manure tanks or ponds has a low solids content, giving it a consistency and therefore physical properties similar to that of water. As a result, liquid manure, when released in a spill, flows in the same manner as water, thereby placing surface water and conduits to groundwater at risk of contamination.
Additional Concerns
According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the decomposition of manure in storage or handling systems generates gases, some of which are toxic, explosive and oxygen displacing. The most hazardous gases are hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Dangerous levels of these gases can accumulate in and around manure management systems particularly when manure is being agitated or otherwise disturbed. Hydrogen sulfide levels may increase a thousand-fold during agitation. This extremely toxic gas is the most dangerous manure gas as it is colorless, heavier than air and may cause death in seconds at high concentrations. While hydrogen sulfide is commonly known for its rotten egg odor, the odor is not detectable by the human sense of smell at higher concentrations. It affects the eyes and the respiratory and central nervous systems. Ammonia is lighter than air, has a sharp pungent odor and at higher concentrations, it may cause permanent lung damage. Ammonia
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causes irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract and it is generally found in higher concentrations in poultry manure. Methane is highly flammable. A spark from equipment, open flames, smoking materials, faulty wiring or welding could provide an ignition source for an explosion or fire. Methane is odorless, colorless and lighter than air. By displacing air at high concentrations, methane which is itself non-toxic, can become an asphyxiant and will cause rapid breathing, dizziness and fatigue. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and will displace oxygen. Carbon dioxide exposure may result in headaches and dizziness. Death by asphyxiation is possible at high concentrations.
While manure is the primary source for the hazardous gases addressed here, the decomposition of other organic material, such as milking center waste, waste feed, feed leachate and any combination of these materials, may pose similar risks.
http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/arm/agriculture/land-water/conservation/ pdf/ManureGasSafetyReport.pdf
Frequency of Occurrence
Small manure spills occur frequently and, while they can be a contributing factor to environmental degradation, they rarely and immediately affect the health and safety of the population. For example, a manure spill occurred at Highway 96 and Highway J in the Town of Kaukauna on 20 August 2010. Large spills of the type that are seriously, immediately and directly dangerous are very rare and Outagamie County has a low probability of experiencing one of these incidents.
Vulnerability
Wisconsin, like many places in the United States, is seeing the closure of traditional, small family farms and is seeing more industrial, large-scale farms opening and operating. These businesses, due to the scale of their operations, are much more likely to see the large manure quantities that require transport and storage facilities that may fail. Outagamie County expects, like the rest of the state, to see industrial farming increase in the future. Large manure spills from whatever the source can negatively affect the environment by, for example, changing the chemistry of local surface water to increase algae blooms and/or reduce oxygen so that fish and other aquatic life are negatively affected. Large spills can also put biological pathogens from the manure into surface water and contaminate
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ground water, which is of particular concern for homes that have private wells.
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/081001.htm
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of agricultural manure spill mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, reduce environmental damage and public health crises due to these events. Hazard mitigation strategies include providing public information to livestock producers regarding mitigation measures to protect against the hazards of a commercial manure spill, which will be provided with the animal waste permit and creating and instituting notification procedures for manure spills for Land Conservation and Emergency Management, which will help reduce and/or minimize fines for farmers.
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Mass Casualty Incidents
Outagamie County is concerned about mitigating for Mass Casualty incidents, which overwhelm the local municipality capabilities and resources for responding.
http://randwick.ses.nsw.gov.au/albums/album22/CIMG0665.sized.jpg
Physical Characteristics
Mass casualty incidents may occur as the result of many types of problems including industrial accidents, transportation accidents, natural disasters, public health incidents and intentional acts of violence/terrorism.
Frequency of Occurrence
The definition of a mass casualty incident is determined by the responding agency, not by a hard number of victims because, by definition, a mass casualty incident is one that exceeds the responding jurisdiction’s ability and resources to manage it. In general, most response agencies have the ability to manage the number of victims that can reasonably be regularly expected in their area based on population, hazard profile, etc. This means then that Outagamie County has a low likelihood of a mass casualty incident on any given day but a high risk of damage, death or injury due if an incident does occur because the resources are not immediately available to manage the situation.
Vulnerability
True mass casualty incidents are rare but when they do occur, they tend to be very costly in terms of lost life, injuries, property damage and response costs, with the costs proportionally increasing as the size of the
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response (i.e., mutual aid agencies and additional and immediately needed resources requested) increases.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of mass casualty incident mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives, injury complications and excessive response costs due to these events. Hazard mitigation strategies include continuing the exercise program to ensure first response preparedness for mass casualty incidents.
Public Health Incidents
Public health is a community-based approach to preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health. Public health emergencies include both those events for which public health is the primary focus (e.g., pandemic influenza) as well as those for which public health is one of many concerns (e.g., a bioterrorism incident, disease concerns related to a flood, or mental health care after a mass casualty incident).
The Outagamie County Public Health Emergency Plan (PHEP) is divided into the following response sections: Activation/Demobilization Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation Resource Management Containment Measures Laboratory Waste Disposal Risk Communication Tactical Communication Medicine Distribution
Outagamie County is concerned about the possibility of loss of life due to public health incidents such as infectious disease, poor air quality and contaminated water supply.
Physical Characteristics
The goals of a response to pandemic influenza or another communicable disease outbreak are to limit the spread of a pandemic, treat (as possible) the disease, minimize suffering and death and sustain infrastructure and
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lessen the impact on the economy and the functioning of society. Outagamie County and City of Appleton Public Health Departments, along with state and federal partners, work hard to prepare for the dangers of communicable diseases with comprehensive and integrated planning, training and exercises.
Air Quality Alerts occur when the Air Quality Index is in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy or Hazardous” for the community. These levels can cause health effects for many people when it rises to the “Unhealthy” or higher level. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting how clean or polluted outdoor air is in a given area on a daily basis. The AQI also provides information regarding air quality- associated health effects that may occur within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) calculate the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, the EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health. AQI scores can range from 0 to 500 and the higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the resulting health concern. AQI values at or below 100 are generally considered satisfactory while AQI values above 100 are considered unhealthy - air with an AQI value over 300 is of a quality so hazardous that serious effects may be felt by everyone, not just those who are particularly sensitive to poor air quality (e.g., asthmatics).
The counties are shaded by quartile, with lighter counties having less air quality risk. http://uwphi.pophealth.wisc.edu/pha/wchr/2008/fullreport.pdf
According to the 2008 Wisconsin County Health Rankings Full Report generated by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, Outagamie County ranks 62nd out of 73 Wisconsin counties for air quality, with an air quality score of 60.9. The cancer risk per million, a measure of
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the lifetime cancer risk attributable to air pollutants and represented as the incidence of cancer per 1,000,000 people, is 32.4. The Respiratory Hazard Index, a measure of the cumulative hazard of respiratory non- cancer adverse health effects, is 2.83 (values >1.0 represent increased risk while values <1.0 represent reduced risk). The PM2.5, representing the amount of particulates smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter per cubic meter, is 11.5. The amount of ozone present at air monitoring sites, represented in parts per billion is 74.0. Contaminated water supply is when a water plant or private well that becomes contaminated through accidental or purposefully exposure to substances harmful to humans.
Frequency of Occurrence
Community public health partners work together constantly to use and improve the monitoring, preparedness and response systems for public health threats. In general, Outagamie County has a medium risk of public health threat with a varying risk of death or injury if an incident does occur based on the type and timing of incident/threat, health status of the individuals and prophylaxis available for the threat.
Vulnerability
Every community is vulnerable to the loss of life; illness/injury and the social, psychological and community costs that result from public health incidents. Aside from the very obvious devastation that can result from widespread illness and death, the loss is often compounded by the fact that in many instances, children and the elderly are the most vulnerable people in the population to public health threats. Other losses to the community may include the financial toll of responding to an incident and
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the loss to the community of production in the workplace. Public health threats may disrupt the normal operation of the community, closing gathering places such as retail space, community events/social gatherings, places of worship and schools.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of public health incident mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives, illness/injury, social costs and environmental damage due to these events. Hazard mitigation strategies include providing high-quality, coordinated public information in support of the public health plan for periods of public health concerns. Within the county, the public health department of jurisdiction will take the lead with providing information, supervision, the distribution of vaccines and all other related services.
Terrorism/Intentional Acts of Violence Incidents
Outagamie County is concerned about the possibility of terrorism or other intentional acts of violence in the community.
Physical Characteristics
Terrorism or Intentional Acts of Violence is defined as the use of violence or the threat of violence to cause fear and intimidation to the community and/or government. This can be accomplished using explosives, weapons, biological agents, cyber attacks, food supply tampering and other means.
Frequency of Occurrence
Intentional acts of violence are, unfortunately, very common but for the purposes of this plan we are discussing those that are large-scale and draw a large amount of response resources and/or community and media attention. The difference between these events and terrorism is that they may be personal in nature (e.g., school or workplace violence) versus having a political goal, as is seen in terrorism. Terrorism and intentional acts of violence incidents are rare and in general, Outagamie County has
Page 138 Non-Natural Disasters
a very low likelihood of occurrence with a very high risk of damage, death or injury due if an incident does occur.
Vulnerability
Terrorism and large-scale intentional acts of violence are rare but when they do occur, they tend to very costly in terms of lost life, injuries, property damage and response costs.
Hazard Mitigation Strategies
The goal of terrorism and intentional acts of violence incident mitigation activities is to reduce, in a cost effective manner, the loss of lives, injuries, and property damage due to these events. Hazard mitigation strategies include providing Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO) training to appropriate individuals to create “eyes and ears” in the public so that they might report suspicious activities. This training is offered free and is provided by the state intelligence information center. Another strategy is to provide information (via website link) to citizens so that they might be more aware of suspicious activities.
Page 139 Appendix A: Maps
Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Base Map
Page 140 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Total Severe Weather Events
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13595&locid=18
Page 141 Appendix A: Maps
Soils Types
Source: Soils of Wisconsin compiled by F. D. Hole, 1973; Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Map, scale (approx.) 1: 3,150,000.
Page 142 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Soils Map
Page 143 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Peat Moss Areas Map
Page 144 Appendix A: Maps
Sites on the National Register of Historic Places
Page 145 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Ambulance Districts
Page 150 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Fire Districts
Page 151 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Law Enforcement Districts
Page 152 Appendix A: Maps
Earthquakes in Wisconsin
Peak Ground Acceleration Contours and Historical Earthquakes in Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-64
Page 153 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Annual Precipitation
Source: http://www.uwex.edu/sco/state.html
Page 154 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Hydrography
Page 155 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Total Flood Events
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13591&locid=18
Page 156 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Watersheds
Page 157 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Floodplain
Page 158 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Wetlands
Page 159 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Dams
Page 160 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Airports
Page 161 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Bridges
Page 162 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Railroads
Page 163 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Critical Facilities in the Floodplain
Page 164 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Special Needs Facilities
Page 165 Appendix A: Maps
Landslide Incidence and Susceptibility
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-83
Page 166 Appendix A: Maps
Karst Potential
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-84
Page 167 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Hail
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13592&locid=18
Page 168 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Lightning
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13593&locid=18
Page 169 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Severe Thunderstorm Winds
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13596&locid=18
Page 170 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Tornadoes (1982-2007)
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=13594&locid=18
Page 171 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Tornadoes 1844-2006
Source: Wisconsin Emergency Management
Page 172 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Seasonal Snowfall (2006-2007)
Wisconsin Emergency Management, http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=12366&locid=18
Page 173 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Electric Transmission Lines
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-193
Page 174 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Electrical Substations
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-194
Page 175 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Electrical Utility Service Areas
Page 176 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Natural Gas Pipelines
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-196
Page 177 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Natural Gas Pipelines
Page 178 Appendix A: Maps
Wisconsin Wastewater Facilities
Wisconsin State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2004, page 4-189
Page 179 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Wastewater Treatment Plants
Page 180 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Well Casing Depth for Arsenic Advisory Area
Page 181 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Tier II Sites
Page 182 Appendix A: Maps
Outagamie County Extremely Hazardous Substances (EHS) Sites
Page 183 Appendix A: Maps
Appendix B: Plan Adoption
This plan has been adopted by Outagamie County and the following municipal bodies including the Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna and Seymour; the Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols and Shiocton; and the Towns of Black Creek, Bovina, Buchanan, Center, Cicero, Dale, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and Vandenbroek. The City of New London is in the Waupaca County, WI plan and the Villages of Howard and Wrightstown are in the Brown County, WI plan. Scanned copies of those municipalities that adopted this plan follow.
Page 184 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
Summary of Mitigation Strategies Hazard Type Mitigation Measures Costs of Project Responsible Project Project Community(ies) Comments Management Timetable Priority Benefitting All Hazards Continue to promote the increased Covered by Dept EM Dept, Ongoing Medium Countywide . The county resells radios use of National Oceanic and annual budget County Clerk to interested residents. Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) . Public Information weather radios reminder in spring and summer. Upgrade area early warning sirens: $33,000 EM Dept., MIS, 2014 High Countywide . Currently can only blow all Currently reviewing an RFP to Com. Center sirens in the county. upgrade the siren system. . Can do a polygon Install 4-5 more sirens in 2011 selection based on National Weather Service storm area. Dispatch does not have to do this. . 44 sirens already exist in the county (5 owned by New London but activated by the county). . Installed 4 new sirens in 2009 and installed upgrade of existing sirens and computer system Upgrade the reverse notification $50,000 for 1st Sheriff’s Office On-going Medium Countywide Currently use the City Watch system to a new vendor’s system. year, $25,000 and Com. program but it is no longer cost annually Center effective. Will seek out a new vendor with a transition date hopefully in 2011. New system will text message, allow citizens to register their home and cell phones and have better mapping and user interface for dispatch. Continue to work with and support Covered by Dept EM Dept On-going Medium Countywide The county VOAD chapter is the county (VOAD) volunteer teams annual budget four years old and has active Page 185 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
members from the American Red Cross and the ARES amateur radio group. Continue to improve the county radio $16 Million for Sheriff’s Office On-going Very Countywide . 3 year project completing system: Outagamie and municipal High about 1/1/13 . Upgrade from VHF to 700 MHz County and its police and fire . Will upgrade radio for voice communications. municipalities departments systems for all three . Upgrade the VHF system for with contractor counties plus the paging. $43 Million assistance municipal fire and police . Upgrade the 800 MHz system for (incl. Calumet & from FOXCOM departments data services to increase speed. Winnebago Cos.) . Continue working on a regional EM Dept. 2013 High . Will include better links field interoperability plan for daily between Winnebago & and disaster operations. Outagamie Co. dispatch centers
. Upgrade the siren radios to be $120,000 EM Dept & 2011-2012 High . Siren radios are VHF and compliant with narrow-band Comm. Center need to be upgraded to requirements. 700 mHz Continue to add/update Emergency Covered by Dept EM Dept On-going Medium Countywide Management Department links on the annual budget existing county web site (e.g., ARC, Homeland Security/FEMA, WEM) especially focusing on preparedness bulletins. Publicize the website to show the community what is there. Upgrade County EOC to include a ~$3,500 EM Dept. 2010 Medium Outagamie new EOC manual and a projector County Include EOC in the building plans in ~$25,000 City of 2012 High City of Kaukauna Old building was part of a the new building. Kaukauna building with regular flooding problems. New EOC would be a multipurpose room that was the City EOC. Upgrade the City of Appleton EOC as ~$24,700 Police 2010 Medium City of Appleton The whole building costs is part of the police department Department $494K. New EOC would be a remodeling. multipurpose room that was the City EOC. Complete a remote data backup and iSeries computer Appleton Tech 2009 High City of Appleton . Infrastructure protection create a “warm” site. system portion - Services for data services $50,8000 . iSeries is an AS400 Page 186 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
system SAN for remote 2010 backups - $110,000
Implementation 2010 of warm site - $30,000 Provide remote access to city $46,000 Appleton Tech 2009 High City of Appleton systems through Virtual Private Services Network (VPN). Create wireless access to city Initial pilot - Appleton Tech 2010 Medium City of Appleton systems via mesh network, including $200,000 Services remote camera setups to connect to (including city a command post or EOC. portion of $80,000)
Expansion 2015 through city and into rural areas - ~$2 million Establish Voice Over Internet $3,000 Appleton Tech 2009 Medium City of Appleton Protocol (VoIP) failover. Services Establish a video conferencing Original cost - Appleton Tech 2011 High City of Appleton system to allow for real-time remote $70,000 Services meetings. Replacement/ upgrade/ expansion - $165,000 Complete the Appleton Area $3,075,000 AAMFON & Completed High City of Appleton, . This can be used to help Metropolitan Fiber Optic Network (including City of Appleton Tech in 2001 Appleton Area support the message sign (AAMFON) to provide fiber Appleton portion Services but School District, project (listed below) connectivity for and between 50 of $860,000) plus upgraded Outagamie . System is being locations serving five jurisdictions. ongoing annual annually County, Town of continually expanded fee of $15,000 Grand Chute, (paid by City of and Fox Valley Appleton) Technical College Review the Memoranda of Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Low Countywide Page 187 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
Understanding (MOU) and annual budget contingency contracts used in a disaster. Create an interoperability Covered by Dept EM Dept & Ongoing Low Countywide communications plan between the annual budget ARES municipal and county EOCs in Outagamie County Work with the 211 system to develop Covered by Dept EM Dept 2010 Low Countywide procedures to release emergency annual budget public information. Bid-out a competitive contract for a Covered by Dept EM Dept and 2010 High Countywide contract company to be available for annual budget GIS doing a post-disaster flyover for orthophotos for GIS. Drought and County should be prepared to Covered by Dept UW-Ext./USDA As needed Low Countywide Dust Storms provide information to farmers during annual budget times of drought Inform farmers on purchasing crop Covered by Dept UW-Ext./USDA Ongoing Low Countywide insurance annual budget Flooding and *Place a link on the EM Dept website Covered by Dept EM Dept & Ongoing Medium Countywide Dam Failure for flood preparedness material to annual budget Zoning include information for citizens about the purchase of flood insurance *Look for an acceptable Covered by Municipal Ongoing High Outagamie Some of the potential solutions (environmentally, socially, cost- annual budget elected officials County; Cities of may include acquisitions, benefit, politically, etc.) solution for Appleton, demolitions, floodproofing or removing water from flood-prone Kaukauna, moving water to surface areas. Seek out funding sources Seymour; streams. (grants) to execute solutions. Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols, Shiocton Upgrade roadways to prevent future County flooding damage: Highway Dept. Buchanan Road bridge $35,000 2009 High V. of Little Chute Page 188 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
replacement Culvert-bridge replacement $100,000 On-going Medium Countywide program Grandy Road bridge replacement $16,000 2010 High T. of Cicero Rita (Mead St.) bridge $12,600 2010 High T. of Center replacement Wachtendock (French Rd.) bridge $17,600 2010 High T. of Seymour Culvert replacement program $75,000 Ongoing Medium Countywide *Restrict development in the $0 Municipal Ongoing Low City of Kaukauna Current municipal ordinance floodway. Ordinance restricts construction in floodway/flood plain. Remove debris (logs, timbers, etc.) $1,000 annually DPW Ongoing Low Countywide from the river beds, ditches, etc. to prevent blockages at bridges and other potential “choke points.” Keep a supply of emergency Varies EM Dept. and Ongoing High Countywide EM keeps the sandbags and sandbags in stock. municipal fire additional resource information and police available and provides them to depts.. the municipalities upon request and per plan. *Floodplain ordinance mapping $325,000 Zoning Dept. & 2009 – High Countywide . New flood maps are being GIS 2010 adopted (scheduled March 2010). . LIDAR data gathering would cost $270,000 Stormwater management plan Covered by Dept Planning, 2010 Medium Countywide EPA and WI DNR mandate annual budget Zoning, LCD Complete stormwater flooding study $20,000,000 Appleton DPW As funding High City of Appleton Affects emergency vehicle efforts, design, permit and available routes and approximately 50- constructing mitigation measures 100 properties such as buyouts, underground storage, ponds, etc. at the following locations: . AMC Study Area . Green Bay Road Study Area . Leonard Street Study Area . Theodore/Calumet Streets Study Area Conduct a study to identify areas ~$25,000 WI DNR, WI 2012 High Village of Invitation for proposal from the Page 189 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
where the dam at Shiocton (in the DATCP and Shiocton WI DNR was released in May Drainage District) needs repair to Outagamie Co 2010. come into compliance with WI state Land statute NR333. Conservation Dept., Village leadership *Seek and implement solutions to the Planning is Village of Black Ongoing Medium Village of Black The Village of Black Creek is identified repeat flooding issues with covered by Creek, -High Creek currently meeting with county partner agencies. agency budgets. Outagamie and state partners to discuss Unknown cost for County EM, the repeat flooding issues and solutions. Highway and how they can solve it with the Land water board districts. Conservation, WI DOT, Water Board Districts *Floodplain mapping & modeling $20,000 Planning-GIS, As grants Medium Towns of Black . A bridge inventory was . Conduct a culvert-bridge EM Dept available – Low Creek, Bovina, done in 2004 but is not inventory Buchanan, well maintained. Center, Cicero, . Helps with contour Dale, Deer creation for FEMA Creek, Ellington, mapping Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and Vandenbroek
. Map footprints of buildings in the $150,000 floodplain. Forest Fires, Continue to provide outreach efforts Costs vary Outagamie Ongoing Medium Countywide . Costs are for educational Wildfires/ Peat to homeowners on protecting homes County Fire (as grants - High materials, smoke Moss Fires and and structures from fires including: Chiefs and detectors battery Structural Fires . Eliminate the hazard. Association, budget programs. . Install and maintain smoke Municipalities dollars . Continue to expand with detectors available) the fire prevention Page 190 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
. Youth and civic group fire programming. Purchase awareness programs materials to distribute. . Fire extinguisher training . Many programs are done . Outdoor fire safety education during the annual Fire Safety Week in October. Provide a link on the county disaster Covered by Dept EM Dept 2010 Medium Countywide . Town Chairs issue burn preparedness website to the National annual budget banning orders. Weather Service – Green Bay . County Executive does grassland fire danger index when it is “no burn” advisories. completed. Also link to county and town burn advisories and restrictions. Identify and install areas that need $3,000 - $5,000 Outagamie 2011 Medium Countywide dry hydrants in rural areas. per hydrant per County Fire site Chiefs Association Establish and Outagamie County Covered by Dept Fire Chiefs’ Ongoing High Countywide Starting with fire departments MABAS division for the four annual budget Association and then will expand to include participating departments. EMS. Identify high-hazard areas in the Covered by Outagamie Ongoing Medium Countywide community’s risk hazard analysis as annual budget County Fire part of the MABAS project Chiefs Association . Explore the possibility of creating Covered by Outagamie 2012 Low Countywide . DNR does not cover a county ordinance to enforce annual budget County Fire Outagamie County. the “no burning” advisories. Chiefs’ . Consider using DNR . Create a process to standardize Association, science model. between the communities when County burn restrictions are ordered. Executive Explore the feasibility of a countywide Covered by Outagamie Ongoing Low Countywide ordinance to have residential annual budget County Fire sprinkler systems in areas with Chiefs municipal water systems. Association, Municipalities Continue the fire inspection programs Covered by Outagamie Ongoing High Countywide Kimberly FD has two for commercial and residential annual budget County Fire (as grants dedicated inspectors structures as required by ordinance Chiefs and and/or policy. Provide fire mitigation Association, budget information to those inspected. Municipalities dollars available)
Page 191 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
Severe Continue public informational Covered by EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Done in annual campaigns in Temperatures campaigns about severe weather on budget Fall and Spring. the website and during Winter and Heat Awareness Weeks. Explore planning for warming/cooling Covered by Dept Appleton and 2013 Medium Countywide shelters around county locations. annual budget Outagamie Co. Public Health Storms: Hail Place hail storm safety materials in Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide county display rack, on the website annual budget and during severe weather week. Provide information regarding the Covered by Dept UW Ext Ongoing Low Countywide purchase of crop insurance annual budget Storms: Place lightning safety materials in Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Lightning county display rack, on the website annual budget and during severe weather week. Storms: Place thunderstorm safety materials Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Thunderstorm in county display rack, on the website annual budget and during severe weather week. Provide advice to event boards, the Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Low Countywide UW campus and residences for annual budget senior citizens seeking assistance regarding safety issues and emergency planning, as requested. Storms: Provide information (via website link) Costs vary per EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Utilize Department of Tornadoes and to mobile home park owners and location and its Commerce’s CDBG for High Winds park/campground operators about needs funding assistance providing permanent storm shelters Each shelter holds in the parks. approximately 10 people and costs $3,000. Provide information (via website link) Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide to builders and owners of annual budget manufactured and mobile homes about the use of tie-downs with ground anchors Identify high-hazard sites and put Covered by Dept EM Dept As grants Medium Countywide The Thousand Island Nature shelters in where needed. annual budget received Center is one potential location. Identify large sporting and Covered by Dept EM Dept 2013 Medium Countywide . Currently there are recreational areas and survey their annual budget maintenance people on 12 Page 192 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
alerting and notification capabilities. hrs/day and 7 days/week to personally notify Explore upgrading the warning citizens. The rest of the system for storms/tornadoes to a time is not covered. voice-capable digital siren at . Tornado siren coverage is Plamann Park, USA Sports and spotty in the area Mosquito Hill. . A trail for the disabled is going in at Mosquito Hill in 2011. Establish procedures for dealing with Covered by Dept Local 2012 Low Town of Review the project, the disposal of larger volumes of annual budget Emergency Buchanan determine need and cost. debris after the storm Management Identify contractors to assist the Town other than the County Highway Department. Evaluate adding sirens to the east Possible county Local 2012 Low Town of side of the town grants Emergency Buchanan Management Promote tornado awareness, Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Done during Tornado including safety measures. annual budget Awareness Week in April and by sponsoring spotter classes. Information will be included on the website for homes, schools and business safety measures. Storms: Winter Promote winter hazards awareness, Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Medium Countywide Done during Winter Weather including home and travel safety annual budget Awareness Week in measures (including website.) November. Install snow fencing in wind tunnel Covered by Dept Highway and Annually in Medium Countywide areas around the county annual budget DPW Depts. fall Increase signage to include $50,000 x 3 sites Appleton DPW Ongoing Medium Appleton Currently DPW shuts the potentially adding a message board Dept. & Co. and grant bridge down when it is too for the Highway 441 bridge and the Highway Dept. dependent hazardous. College Ave bridge (west of Lindwood and Lawe Streets). Install a Road Weather Information $40,000/site County As funding Low Countywide The stations report air and System (RWIS) monitoring system (WIDOT might be Highway available bridge/road deck temperature stations for Highway 41 interested in and wind speed and direction. participating for
Page 193 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
additional stations.) Utility Failure Purchase back-up generators for the $15,000 x 10 Utility Dept. 2013 – Medium City of Appleton (Electrical, sewage lift stations stations 2015 (as Sewer, Potable grants Water) available) Install an independent generator for $160,000 Facilities 2010 High City of Appleton City Hall. Management Upgrade the Town EOC by installing ~$29,000 Town of 2009 Very Town of This project was completed on a generator in the Town Hall. Buchanan High Buchanan schedule. Perform a study on upgrading Covered by Dept Town of Center 2010 Low Town of Center (including electrical service) the Town annual budget Hall so that it may serve as a shelter Provide information to residents on Covered by Dept EM Dept 2010 Low Countywide preparedness planning for utility annual budget failures on the county website. Install a back-up generator for the ~$180,000 MIS and 2009 High Outagamie This project was completed on computer and HVAC systems for the Facilities County schedule. county computer server room. Conduct an analysis of the county’s Covered by Dept County and 2015 Medium Countywide critical facilities to determine which annual budget Municipal EM have back-up power. Dept Non-Natural Disaster Hazards Airplane Support ongoing fire department and Covered by Dept EM Dept, fire Ongoing Medium Countywide Want to include trainings in the Accident EMS training for airplane accidents. annual budget departments near future to include: and airport . Managing the hazards of the explosive parachutes that are in Cessna tails . Aircraft accidents that occur off the airport property (i.e., are from flight paths in the county) Hazardous Update the LEPC off-site plans to Covered by LEPC & EM Ongoing High Countywide 100% of the county’s facility Materials ensure thoroughness and currency. annual budget Dept. are updated annually. Incident Continue annual training programs Approximately EM Dept & Fire Ongoing Medium Countywide Topics: (Fixed, for all of the county’s first response $1,500 per Chiefs’ 2009 – EPA/DNR roles in Pipeline, agencies on hazardous materials training – Association hazmat response Railway, topics. covered by 2010 – Pipeline safety Page 194 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
Roadway) budgets or grants Manure Spill Provide public information to Covered by Land Ongoing Medium Countywide but it Will provide with the animal livestock producers regarding budget Conservation mostly affects the waste permit. mitigation measures to protect Dept. towns against the hazards of a commercial manure spill. Create and institute notification Covered by Land 2010 Medium Countywide but it This will help to keep fines for procedures for manure spills for Land budget Conservation mostly affects the farmers minimized. Conservation and Emergency Dept. and EM towns Management. Dept. Mass Casualty Continue exercise program to ensure Costs vary Municipal Fire Ongoing High Countywide . At least one exercise is first response preparedness for mass and EMS done annually with the casualty incidents. Depts. Theda Clark Hospital. . Appleton Fire, Police and Gold Cross Ambulance received funding for an evacuation drill from the new hospital patient tower. Public Health Provide high-quality, coordinated Covered by Public Health Ongoing Medium Countywide . Public health concerns public information in support of the budget Depts. and EM may include air quality public health plan for periods of Depts. alerts, communicable public health concerns. disease outbreaks (including pandemic influenzas) and contaminated water supplies. . The county will take the lead in informing, supervision, distribution of vaccines and all other related services. Terrorism/ Provide Terrorism Liaison Officer Covered by Dept EM Dept. Ongoing Low Countywide Training is offered free and is Intentional (TLO) training to appropriate annual budget provided by the state Acts of individuals to create “eyes and ears” intelligence information center. Violence in the public so that they might report suspicious activities. Provide information (via website link) Covered by Dept EM Dept Ongoing Low Countywide to citizens so that they might be more annual budget aware of suspicious activities. Page 195 Appendix C: Summary of Mitigation Strategies
EM Dept = Outagamie County Emergency Management Department PRLM = Planning, Resource & Land Management Department UW Ext = University of Wisconsin – Outagamie County Extension Office
* Signifies an NFIP element.
All Communities in Outagamie County include: Outagamie County; Cities of Appleton, Kaukauna and Seymour; the Villages of Bear Creek, Black Creek, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Nichols and Shiocton; and the Towns of Black Creek, Bovina, Buchanan, Center, Cicero, Dale, Deer Creek, Ellington, Freedom, Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonia, Kaukauna, Liberty, Maine, Maple Creek, Oneida, Osborn, Seymour and Vandenbroek.
Page 196 Appendix D: Community Input
Appendix D: Community Input
Outagamie County believes in the importance of gathering public input from interested parties in the community. To achieve this goal, the Emergency Management Office took every opportunity available to utilize various methods to publicize the opportunity for people to participate in the planning process and to gather input from interested parties. The table that follows outlines the major opportunities that were created to discuss the plan. The table includes dates of workgroup meetings, meetings with public officials and media opportunities for the all-hazards pre-disaster mitigation plan.
DATE SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITY
1/28/09 Workgroup meeting
5/20/09 Workgroup meeting
8/19/09 WHBY radio interview with the County EM Director where she mentions the PDM plan. This message (transcript follows) is recorded and played several times over the day.
8/20/09 Workgroup meeting
9/9/09 Workgroup meeting
10/14/09 Workgroup meeting
12/7/09 Workgroup meeting
2/12/10 Workgroup meeting
5/18/10 County EM Director does radio interview pointing people (including the general public, media, academia, business, elected officials) to the county website to review and comment on the draft plan. This message (transcript follows) is recorded and played several times over the day.
5/23/10 Legal Public Notice regarding the plan placed in the local newspaper. This notice (scan follows) invited members
Page 197 Appendix D: Community Input
of the public to view and comment on the draft plan.
Page 198 Appendix D: Community Input
Date: February 4, 2009
To: Cities, Villages and Towns in Outagamie County CC: Local Emergency Management Coordinators and Municipal Clerks From: Christina Muller, Outagamie County Emergency Management Director
Dear Community Partner,
In 2008 Outagamie County Emergency Management was awarded a grant to develop a County- wide All Hazards Mitigation Plan encompassing cities, villages, and towns. The primary focus of this plan is Outagamie County’s potential exposure to natural and man-made hazards and to identify appropriate mitigation strategies. Completion of this plan will assist in identifying areas of risk, assess the extent of the risk, and develop plans for reducing this risk.
Through this process we will address issues related to the protection of critical facilities, mitigation, and the reduction of costs associated with disaster relief and rescue efforts. This plan will make Outagamie County and jurisdictions within eligible for future disaster relief and mitigation project funds, enabling us to implement recommended mitigation strategies. The plan will be prepared by Outagamie County with assistance from the East Central Regional Planning Commission.
For your jurisdiction to become involved please review the enclosed Agreement to Participate form and return to Emergency Management by March 3rd. Please note a city or village not participating in the plan will not be eligible for future Hazard Mitigation grant funds unless they develop their own FEMA approved plan. If you have questions about this plan or the responsibilities of being involved please contact me either at 832-5148 or [email protected]. I look forward to working with you on this project.
Sincerely, Christina Muller, Emergency Management Director
Page 199 Appendix D: Community Input
Agreement to Participate in the Outagamie County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan
General:
This agreement is between the Outagamie County (the County) through the Department of Emergency Management and the City/Village/Town of ______.
This agreement identifies expectations of the County and the City/Village/Town in participating in the County-wide All Hazards Mitigation Planning.
On March 11, 2008 the Outagamie County Board of Supervisors approved acceptance of the FFY08 FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Planning Grant in the amount of $95,720 to develop an All Hazard Mitigation Plan.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide up to 75% of the funds or $71,790, with the remaining 25% as the required county and local match. These funds will be used towards consultant services for developing the plan. The county and local match requirement can be satisfied in-kind through the commitment of county and local government staff time and requires no additional expenditure of funds. The draft plan must be completed by January, 2010 for submission to Wisconsin Emergency Management and FEMA.
Hazard mitigation planning is a basic prerequisite for local units to remain eligible for a number of FEMA funded disaster recovery and mitigation assistance programs. FEMA approval of the All Hazards Mitigation plan will qualify the county and participating local jurisdictions to become eligible for pre-disaster and post-disaster hazard mitigation project funds from the federal government. Town are encouraged to participate but are covered under the county portion of the plan. Please read through the following and return to Emergency Management by 3/3/09.
County Responsibilities: Outagamie County Emergency Management will: A. Execute a contract for services to a consulting firm to assist in the planning process, compile data, facilitate meetings, and prepare draft plan documents. B. Serve as the fiscal agent and administer all aspects of the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Planning Grant. C. Establish a work plan for the planning consultant to assure the needs of both the county and participating jurisdictions are met. D. Supervise and direct the activities of the planning consultant. Emergency Management staff will regularly monitor progress and outcomes with each participating jurisdiction toward achieving the project milestones. E. Facilitate meetings and other coordination activities between the County and all participating local jurisdictions. F. Provide plan templates and data collection tools for local use or adaptation. Page 200 Appendix D: Community Input
G. Facilitate update of the County’s portions of the plan.
Partnering Local Government Responsibilities: Participating City/Village/Town will: A. Identify a point of contact and an alternate for local plan development and coordination.
Primary Contact: Alternate Contact:
Name: ______Name: ______
Title: Title: ______
Address: ______Address: ______
______
Email: Email: ______
Phone: ______Phone: ______
B. Work with the Emergency Management to prepare a plan document that will meet FEMA guidelines for a natural hazards mitigation plan: 1. Coordinate your jurisdiction’s agencies/departments input to complete a risk assessment. 2. Keep track of hours spent working on the plan that can be put toward the grant match (you will be given a form for this). 3. Provide input on local mitigation strategies and ranking survey for the hazards in the community. 4. Participate in public outreach activities to gain public input on the draft plan. 5. Review and approve draft plan documents. 6. Adopt the final draft of the plan through formal resolution.
By entering into this agreement, the participant is not endorsing the plan at this time, but is agreeing to participate in the process and may at anytime withdraw that involvement and/or decline to adopt the plan when it is completed.
Yes, this local government will participate with the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan.
No, this local government declines participation with the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan. A city or village declining understands they will not
Page 201 Appendix D: Community Input be eligible for future Hazard Mitigation grant funds unless they develop their own FEMA approved plan.
Signatures:
For Outagamie County Emergency Management:
Name ______Date ______
For Local Participant:
Name ______Date ______
Page 202 Appendix D: Community Input
Outagamie County - Wide All – Hazards Mitigation Steering Committee Meeting AGENDA
December 3rd, 2008 1:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 1
Introductions Overview of All – Hazard Mitigation Plan Completing the Plan: The How To Steering Committee’s Role Next Steps for the Committee Our Next Meeting
Outagamie County - Wide All – Hazards Mitigation Steering Committee Meeting AGENDA
January 28, 2009 1:00 p.m. in County Administration Building, 3rd floor - Meeting Room 1
Introductions Review updated Hazard Mitigation planning timeline Review and provide input on the Risk Assessment Material o Risk Assessment Form o Hazard Explanations Review and provide input on the Local Agreement to Participate Discuss next steps Our next meeting
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Outagamie County - Wide All – Hazards Mitigation Steering Committee Meeting AGENDA
May 20, 2009 1:00 p.m. at the Grand Chute Fire Station # 1 2250 Grand Chute Boulevard, Classroom A
Introductions Update on the Plan Consultant Local Municipalities Participating in the Plan Results from the Hazard Assessments Discuss next steps Our next meeting
Page 206 Appendix D: Community Input
August 19, 2009
To : Greg Bell, WHBY Radio General Manager
From : Christina Muller, Emergency Management Director
Subj : Fox Cities Viewpoint
IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WISCONSIN HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY THREE PRESIDENTIAL DECLARED DISASTERS EFFECTING OVER 30 COUNTIES. BECAUSE OF THIS OUTAGAMIE COUNTY IS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AN ALL-HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN. THIS PLANNING PROCESS BRINGS THE COUNTY, CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES TOGETHER TO DISCUSS WHAT HAZARDS WE ARE AT RISK FOR AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THOSE RISKS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
MITIGATION IS IMPORTANT FOR US FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS. IT PROTECTS THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF RESIDENTS FROM THE IMPACTS OF HAZARDS BY PREVENTING INJURIES. ALSO IT IS ESTIMATED THAT FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON MITIGATION, $2 TO $3 IN FUTURE DISASTER DAMAGES CAN BE AVOIDED. FINALLY HAVING A COMPLETED HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN INCREASES OUR COMMUNITIES’ ABILITY TO RECOVER AFTER A DISASTER. THIS WOULD ALLOW THE COMMUNITY TO ACCESS GRANT FUNDING FOR MITIGATIONS PROJECTS AND RECOVERY.
ONE RESULT OF A HAZARD MITIGATION PROJECT IN WISCONSIN IS THE OAKFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL. AFTER BEING HIT BY A TORNADO IT WAS REBUILT WITH HARDENED INTERIOR WALLS AND THE ROOF WAS BOLTED TO THE WALL SUPPORTS. NOW THE SCHOOL BUILDING IS CONSTRUCTED TO ENDURE TWICE THE WIND FORCE THAN MOST OTHER WISCONSIN SCHOOLS. ANOTHER EXAPLE IS THE CRAWFORD COUNTY HIGHWAY SHOP IS NOW RELOCATED AFTER BEING FLOODED SEVERAL TIMES AND BEING INACCESSIBLE TO STAFF FOR WEEKS.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON OUTAGAMIE COUNTY’S HAZARD MITIGATION PLANNING PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 832-5148. I AM CHRISTINA MULLER, OUTAGAMIE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR AND THAT IS A FOX CITIES VIEWPOINT.
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Outagamie County - Wide All – Hazards Mitigation Steering Committee Agenda
August 20, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Outagamie County Admin Building, 410 S. Walnut St., Meeting Room 1 Introductions of the new consultant: Lenora Borchardt, EPTEC Inc. Review update Hazard Mitigation Plan timeline Share results of completed hazard assessments Next steps: Developing Mitigation Strategies o Handout Schedule our next meeting
Meeting 20 August 2009
9 September 2009 Meeting
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Date: October 28, 2009
To: Local Primary Contact for Cities, Villages, and Towns participating in the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan CC: City, Village, and Town Clerks
From: Christina Muller, Outagamie County Emergency Management Director
Dear Community Partner,
We are in the next step for the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan. Thank you for your continued interest and involvement with this plan! This next step in completing this plan is for your jurisdiction to complete the enclosed Hazard Mitigation Strategies Survey based on the top hazards for your community. I have enclosed an example worksheet for you to look at along with the ranking of hazards for your community based the survey you previously submitted. To make this process successful it is suggested that:
1) Contact your jurisdictions elected officials along with agency heads or designees from Fire, Law Enforcement, EMS, First Responders, Emergency Management, and Public Works (as applicable). Send a copy of the Hazard Mitigation Project Idea Worksheet for them to review and complete. 2) Have all those involved with the Hazard Mitigation Plan keep track of their hours on the Project Participation Reporting Form which was sent out earlier. I have included additional copies for those who had already submitted these forms previously. 3) Set aside a date(s) for these forms to be sent to your jurisdiction. 4) After your jurisdiction is done please mail the completed Hazard Mitigation Project Idea Worksheet and Project Participation Reporting Form back to me by November 20th to: Outagamie County Emergency Management 320 South Walnut Street Appleton, WI 54911
If you wish to use a digital copy of these documents to enter your information please email me at [email protected] and a copy will be forwarded to you. Also if you have questions on completing the survey I will be glad to help. You can reach me either at the email above or at 832-5148. Thank you again for your participation with this plan!
Regards, Christina Muller, Emergency Management Director Page 211 Appendix D: Community Input
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May 18, 2010
To : Greg Bell, WHBY Radio General Manager
From : Christina Muller, Emergency Management Director
Subj : Fox Cities Viewpoint
OUTAGAMIE COUNTY IS IN THE FINAL STEPS OF DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR MITIGATING OR REDUCING HAZARDS IN THE COUNTY. THIS PLANNING PROCESS BROUGHT TOGETHER THE COUNTY, CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES TO DISCUSS WHAT HAZARDS WE ARE AT RISK FOR AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THOSE RISKS IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
HAVING A COMPLETED HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN INCREASES OUR COMMUNITIES’ ABILITY TO RECOVER AFTER A DISASTER. THIS WOULD ALLOW THE COMMUNITY TO ACCESS GRANT FUNDING FOR MITIGATIONS PROJECTS AND RECOVERY.
ONE RESULT OF A HAZARD MITIGATION PROJECT IS THE OAKFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL. AFTER BEING HIT BY A TORNADO IN 1996 IT WAS REBUILT WITH HARDENED INTERIOR WALLS AND THE ROOF WAS BOLTED TO THE WALL SUPPORTS. NOW THE SCHOOL BUILDING IS CONSTRUCTED TO ENDURE TWICE THE WIND FORCE THAN MOST OTHER WISCONSIN SCHOOLS.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON OUTAGAMIE COUNTY’S HAZARD MITIGATION PLANNING OR TO REVIEW THE DRAFT PLAN PLEASE GO TO WWW.OCEMREADY.ORG. I AM CHRISTINA MULLER, OUTAGAMIE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR AND THAT IS A FOX CITIES VIEWPOINT.
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Public Notice
Outagamie County has completed a Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was drafted under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). The plan is available for review at http://www.ocemready.org/. Public comments must be received by June 4, 2010 at the Outagamie County Emergency Management Office, 320 South Walnut St. Appleton, WI 54911.
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Community Surveys
Each municipality was given a survey to assess their own vulnerability to risk. The results were compiled and are presented in the table that follows. After the risk assessments were completed, communities were given a follow-up survey and asked to provide hazard mitigation ideas for their communities, focusing (but not excluded to) the top three hazards from their earlier self-surveys. Following are the hazard definitions given to the communities:
NATURAL HAZARDS Blizzard / Winter Storms - Blizzards have 3 hours or longer sustained wind/gusts to 35 mph or greater with considerable falling and/or blowing snow reducing visibility frequently to less than ¼ mile. Communicable Disease /Outbreak/ Pandemic Flu - A communicable disease is passed from one person or animal to another that can result in an outbreak (e.g., norovirus, tuberculosis, water/food borne illness). Pandemic flu is a global disease outbreak from a virus there is little or no immunity in the people. Depending on the incident the local health care system could be overwhelmed. Drought - A natural decline in the expected precipitation over an extended period of time, typically one or more seasons in length. This can impact agricultural communities and crops along with diminishing water supplies for firefighting. Extreme Cold / Ice Storms - Extreme cold occurs during extended below zero temperatures with possibly even lower wind chill producing hypothermia or frostbite in a short time to those exposed. An ice storm brings rain that freezes when it hits the ground, creating a coating of ice on roads, walkways, trees, and power lines. Both can be causes for power outages. Extreme Heat - When the Heat Index (using temperature & relative humidity) is expected to exceed 105° - 110° for two consecutive days and places the elderly, young, and those with health issues at risk. Flash Flooding / River Flooding - Flash flood is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall in a short time, generally less than 6 hours. River flooding is water collecting within a stream, creek, or river and then overflows onto nearby floodplains. Forest / Wild land / Peat Moss Fires - Uncontrolled fire in areas with concentration of trees, brush, or peat moss and possibly consuming structures. Peat moss fires can remain undetected for days, weeks, or months because of their smoldering underground. Hail - Frozen ice pellets from ¼” – 4 ½” and greater in diameter which causes damage to property and agriculture along with possible injuries.
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Severe Thunderstorms / Lightning Storms - A thunderstorm that produces lightning, tornado, winds of at least 58 mph, and/or hail at least ¾" in diameter. Tornado / High Winds - A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground with wind speeds up to 250 mph or more. High winds are 1) sustained wind speeds of 40 mph or greater for 1 hour or longer or 2) winds of 58 mph or greater for any duration.
MAN MADE/TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS Air Quality Alert - Occurs when the Air Quality Index is in the “Unhealthy for sensitive groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy or Hazardous” for the community. These levels can cause health effects for many people when it rises to the Unhealthy or higher level. Aircraft Accident - Accident involving an aircraft either at the airport site or off the airport site. Contaminated Water Supply - A water plant or private well that becomes contaminated through accidental or purposefully exposure to substances harmful to humans. Dam/Levee Failure - The collapse, breach, or other failure of a dam that could cause downstream flooding. Hazardous Materials Incident - Fixed Facility - A facility containing hazardous substances when either accidental or intentionally released cause concern for life safety and environment containment. Hazardous Materials Incident – Pipeline - Accidental or intentional release of natural gas from the pipeline resulting in a potential evacuation or explosion. Hazardous Materials Incident – Railway - Train derailment, train/vehicle collision, or intentional release causing ruptured rail cars to release hazardous substances resulting in life safety and environmental concerns. Hazardous Materials Incident – Roadway - Vehicle accident involving hazardous chemicals in transport on the roadway resulting in life safety and environmental concerns. Loss of Electrical Service - Either from technological or weather causes these services could be loss during an event for less that one day up to an extended duration of one to two weeks. This can have impact on businesses and residents ability heating and cooling. Loss of Sewer Service/Wastewater Management - Either from technological or weather causes these services could be loss during an event for less that one day up to an extended duration of one to two weeks. During flooding these systems can be affected by excessive storm water. Manure Spill - A release of manure from a manure holding tank (pit) or while in transport to a field with possible impacts on municipal water plant or private well contamination.
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Mass Casualty - A mass casualty event overwhelming the local municipality capabilities and resources for responding. Pre-Planned Events - Community or large scale private events which brings in a large number of people such as parades, concerts, festivals, fireworks display, or sporting events. During these events if an emergency happens it can overwhelm the local resources. Structural Fires - Fire impacting critical infrastructure, multiple buildings, high population/economic area and/or conflagration. Terrorism or Intentional Acts of Violence - The use of violence or the threat of violence to cause fear and intimidation to the community and/or government. This can be accomplished using explosives, weapons, biological agents, cyber attacks, food supply tampering and other means.
Date: March 10, 2009
To: Cities, Villages, and Towns participating in the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan
From: Christina Muller, Outagamie County Emergency Management Director
Dear Community Partner,
I have received your signed agreement to participate in the County-wide All Hazard Mitigation Plan. Thank you for your interest and involvement with this plan! The first step in completing this plan is for your jurisdiction to complete the enclosed Risk Analysis Survey. To make this process successful it is suggested that:
1) Contact your jurisdictions elected officials along with agency heads or designees from Fire, Law Enforcement, EMS, First Responders, Emergency Management, and Public Works (as applicable). Send a copy of the two page Risk Analysis Survey for them to review and complete before the meeting.
2) Have all those involved with the Hazard Mitigation Plan keep track of their hours on the attached sheet which should be sent to Emergency Management at the end of this project.
3) Set aside a date(s) for all or most of you to meet and share your survey results.
Page 217 Appendix D: Community Input
4) At your meeting select one person to be the facilitator. Go through each hazard’s question and as a group decide what number best fits for your jurisdiction and write down that answer (you may need to meet together twice to complete this form). By bringing all these people together you will be gathering a full perspective of past and future hazard threats.
5) After your jurisdiction completes the survey please mail it back by April 14th to: Outagamie County Emergency Management 320 South Walnut Street Appleton, WI 54911 If you wish to use a digital copy of the Excel sheet to enter your information please email me at [email protected] and a copy will be forwarded to you. Also if you have questions on completing the survey I will be glad to help. You can reach me either at the email above or at 832-5148. Thank you again for your participation with this plan.
Regards,
Christina Muller Emergency Management Director
Page 218 Appendix D: Community Input
Risk by Level of Not a Municipality Risk factor Low Medium High
Village City of Village of Village of Village Village County- City of City of New City of of Bear Black Combined of of Little Village of Wide Appleton Kaukauna London Seymour Creek Creek Locks Kimberly Chute Nichols Tornado / High Winds Severe Thunderstorms / Lightning Storms
Hail Forest / Wild land / Peat Moss Fires
Extreme Heat
Drought Extreme Cold / Ice Storms Blizzard / Winter Storms
Dam Failure Flash Flooding / Riverine Flooding
Structural Fires Loss of Electrical Service / Sewer Service Page 219 Appendix D: Community Input
Communicable Disease/Pandemic Flu Mass Causuality - Multiple Vehicular Accident Haz Mat Incident - Railway Haz Mat Incident - Roadway Haz Mat Incident - Pipeline Haz Mat Incident - Fixed Facility
Airport Accident Contaminated Water Supply
Village Town of Town Town of of Village of Black Town of Town of Town of of Town of Deer Town of Town of Shiocton Wrightstown Creek Bovina Buchanan Center Cicero Dale Creek Ellington Freedom Tornado / High Winds Severe Thunderstorms / Lightning Storms
Hail Forest / Wild land / Peat Moss Fires
Extreme Heat Page 220 Appendix D: Community Input
Drought Extreme Cold / Ice Storms Blizzard / Winter Storms
Dam Failure Flash Flooding / Riverine Flooding
Structural Fires Loss of Electrical Service / Sewer Service Communicable Disease/Pandemic Flu Mass Causuality - Multiple Vehicular Accident Haz Mat Incident - Railway Haz Mat Incident - Roadway Haz Mat Incident - Pipeline Haz Mat Incident - Fixed Facility
Airport Accident Contaminated Water Supply
Page 221 Appendix D: Community Input
Town Town of of Grand Town of Town of Town of Town of Town of Maple Town of Town of Town of Town of Chute Greenville Hortinia Kaukauna Liberty Maine Creek Oneida Osborn Seymour Vandenbroek Tornado / High Winds Severe Thunderstorms / Lightning Storms
Hail Forest / Wild land / Peat Moss Fires
Extreme Heat
Drought Extreme Cold / Ice Storms Blizzard / Winter Storms
Dam Failure Flash Flooding / Riverine Flooding
Structural Fires Loss of Electrical Service / Sewer Service Communicable Disease/Pandemic Page 222 Appendix D: Community Input
Flu
Mass Causuality - Multiple Vehicular Accident Haz Mat Incident - Railway Haz Mat Incident - Roadway Haz Mat Incident - Pipeline Haz Mat Incident - Fixed Facility
Airport Accident Contaminated Water Supply
Page 223 Appendix E: HAZUS Vulnerability Assessment
Appendix E: HAZUS Vulnerability Assessment
Identify Hazards
The following flood hazards were identified in the Outagamie County Hazard Mitigation Plan prepared in September 1993.
Outagamie County is located in east central Wisconsin. It is bordered by the city of Appleton to the east; Winnebago and Calumet Counties to the south; Shawano County to the north; and Waupaca County to the north and west. Outagamie County encompasses an area of 640 square miles. The county was created in 1851 from Brown County named for the Outagamie Indian Nation. The major rivers in Outagamie County include the Embarrass, Fox, Rat, Shioc, and Wolf.
The topography of the county has gently rolling hills. The climate is characteristic of Wisconsin, with average monthly maximum and minimum temperatures of 71 degrees Fahrenheit and 16 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively. The average annual precipitation is 30.2 inches.
Approximate methods were used to study Black Otter Creek, Mud Creek Tributary 2, Duck Creek, the Fox River, Apple Creek, the Embarrass River, the Wolf River, Maple Creek, and Bear Creek. Approximate analyses were used to study areas having a low development potential or minimal flood hazards.
Of the rivers and streams studied, only the Wolf River has caused significant flooding problems; however, if development along smaller rivers is left unchecked, more extensive property damage can be anticipated. Flooding of the Wolf River generally occurs in the spring as a result of snowmelt and heavy spring rains.
Five large magnitude floods have been recorded on the Wolf River. These floods have occurred in 1888, 1822, 1929, 1952, and 1960. The greatest discharge ever recorded occurred during the 1922 flood where the discharge was 15,500 cubic feet per second.
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HAZUS-MH Hazard Analysis
Flood analysis for Outagamie County was performed using HAZUS-MH MR3 released in July 2007. The bundled aggregated general building stock was updated to Dun & Bradstreet 2006. Building valuations were updated to R.S. Means 2006. Building counts based on census housing unit counts are available for RES1 (single-family dwellings) and RES2 (manufactured housing) instead of calculated building counts.
The site specific inventory (specifically Schools, Hospitals, Emergency Operation Centers, Fire Stations and Police Stations) was updated using the best available statewide information.
HAZUS-MH was used to generate the flood depth grid for a 100-year return period calculated by clipping the USGS 30m DEM to the Q3 boundary.
Figure 1 depicts the flood boundary from the HAZUS-MH analysis. The majority of damages due to flooding occur along the Wolf, Fox and Embarrass Rivers.
Figure 1: Outagamie County HAZUS-MH Analysis (100-Year Flood)
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HAZUS-MH Aggregate Loss Analysis
HAZUS-MH was used to estimate the damages for a 100-year flood event in Outagamie County. An estimated 49 buildings will be damaged totaling $17.6 million in building losses and $60.3 million in total economic losses. The total estimated number of damaged buildings, total building losses, and estimated total economic losses are shown in Table 1.
HAZUS-MH estimates 40 census blocks with losses exceeding $1 million. The distribution of losses is shown in Figure 2.
HAZUS-MH aggregate loss analysis is evenly distributed across a census block. Census blocks of concern should be reviewed in more detail to determine the actual percentage of facilities that fall within the flood hazard areas. The aggregate losses reported in this study may be overstated. Examples are provided in Figure 3.
Table 1: Outagamie County Total Economic Loss - 100-Year Flood
Total Estimated Total Damaged Building Total Economic Building Loss General Occupancy Total Buildings Buildings Exposure X Loss X 1000 X 1000 1000
Agricultural 1 0 $55,707 $523 $98 Commercial 395 0 $1,697,827 $27,757 $6,317 Education 11 0 $412,984 $4,331 $471 Government 10 0 $55,364 $193 $10 Industrial 72 0 $731,073 $10,343 $2,542 Religious/Non-Profit 26 0 $178,034 $3,725 $478 Residential 46,889 49 $9,336,955 $13,405 $7,676 Total 47,404 49 $12,467,944 $60,277 $17,592
The reported building counts should be interpreted as degrees of loss rather than as exact numbers of buildings exposed to flooding. These numbers were derived from aggregate building inventories which are assumed to be dispersed evenly across census blocks. HAZUS-MH requires that a predetermined amount of square footage of a typical building sustain damage in order to produce a damaged building count. If only a minimal amount of damage to buildings is predicted, it is possible to see zero damaged building counts while also seeing economic losses.
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Figure 2: Outagamie County Total Economic Loss - 100-Year Flood
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Figure 3a: Flood Damage Exposure in New London
Figure 3a shows census blocks overlaid with the flood boundary and orthophoto of New London. Census block 550870127004037 has an estimated building loss of $1.3 million with a combined replacement cost of $6.7 million. Although the orthophoto does show a portion of a building in this census block, no buildings are at risk.
Figure 3b: Flood Damage Exposure in Appleton
Figure 3b shows census blocks overlaid with the flood boundary and orthophoto of Appleton. Census block 550870110001002 has an estimated building loss of $1.8 million with a combined replacement cost of $3.6 million. HAZUS-MH estimates that 71 buildings are within the calculated flood boundary for this block. However, the orthophoto shows this area to be mainly forest, with few buildings. Page 228 Appendix E: HAZUS Vulnerability Assessment
HAZUS-MH Essential Facility Loss Analysis
Essential facilities encounter the same impacts as other buildings within the flood boundary: structural failure, extensive water damage to the facility, and loss of facility functionality (i.e. a damaged police station will no longer be able to serve the community).
The HAZUS-MH analysis identified no facilities that may be subject to flooding. A list of the essential facilities within Outagamie County is included in Table 2.
Table 2: Outagamie County Essential Facility Loss - 100-Year Flood
At Least At Least Class Building Count Moderate Substantial Loss of Use Damage Damage
Care Facilities 12 0 0 0 EOC 1 0 0 0 Fire Stations 23 0 0 0 Police Stations 17 0 0 0 Schools 86 0 0 0 Total 139 0 0 0
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HAZUS-MH Shelter Requirement Analysis
HAZUS-MH estimates the number of households that are expected to be displaced from their homes due to the flood and the associated potential evacuation. HAZUS-MH also estimates those displaced people that will require accommodations in temporary public shelters. The model estimates 1,912 households will be displaced due to the flood. Displacement includes households evacuated from within or very near to the inundated area. Of these 3,251 people (out of a total population of 160,971) will seek temporary shelter in public shelters.
HAZUS-MH State Property Loss Analysis
The flood boundaries were overlaid with the State of Wisconsin property boundaries as provided by the Department of Natural Resources. Table 3 provides a list of state properties impacted by the flood boundary. Figures 4a and 4b show examples of the inundated areas.
Table 3: Outagamie County State Property Flood Inundation
Percent Acres State Property Inundated
Wolf River Bottoms Wildlife Area 58% 1,768 Mack Wildlife Area 100% 1,364 Lower Wolf River Bottomlands Natural Resource Area 88% 1,262 Outagamie Wildlife Area 99% 935 Maine Wildlife Area 96% 649 Statewide Natural Area 35% 508 Statewide Habitat Areas 99% 256 New London To Seymour State Trail 43% 122 Rem-Wolf River-Hortonville Flats 100% 54 Gift Lands 100% 40 Scattered Forest Lands 46% 35 Rat River Wildlife Area 50% 11 Wolf River Public Access 100% 5
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Figure 4a: Boundary of 100-Year Flood Overlaid with State of Wisconsin Properties
Figure 4b: Boundary of 100-Year Flood Overlaid with State of Wisconsin Properties
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Appendix F: Inter-Revision Updates
This plan will undergo major revisions every five years per the FEMA requirements. Outagamie County has recognized that there may be information that should be added to the plan between the five year updates but that the costs of continuous updates, printing and distribution can be excessive. This section is designed to hold that information that is gathered between the five year updates. It is felt that only having to reproduce and distribute one section between updates will lessen the costs to the county.
Potential Areas of Concern Identified:
No additional concerns have been identified to date
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