Flooding problems are nothing new for Vernon County, but one village is taking steps to lessen the future impacts of the Kickapoo River.
In a recent County by County, Alex Loroff describes the effect flooding has had on the village of Viola.
The Kickapoo River runs throughout eastern Vernon County, making its way down from Ontario, through La Farge, and eventually flowing into the village of Viola.
It’s part of the natural beauty of the area, but when heavy rains happen, the river can go from peaceful and serene to destructive.
Ben Culver, Viola Assistant Fire Chief, says, “Normally if we get large rain events where it’s four or five inches of rain at a time or more, we tend to get a lot of water that flows into the Kickapoo watershed, it can be anything from flash flooding in outlying areas that blows water and debris across the highways to full-blown flooding like we’ve had multiple times here."