Rain causes flooding issues in counties north of Milwaukee



THIENSVILLE/SHEBOYGAN (WITI) -- The Milwaukee River in Thiensville is much higher than usual thanks to all the rain we've seen this week. Meanwhile, further north in Sheboygan Falls, the Sheboygan River was causing its own problems as the rain continued to fall.

To get a glimpse of the powerful dam and rushing current, families filled the observation decks along the Sheboygan River on Thursday, April 11th.

"Sounds like a great waterfall! It's loud. I wouldn't go near it! I would stay far away," Karen Fischer said.

The river in Sheboygan Falls is usually calm enough to see rocks on its bottom. On Thursday, the rushing water was dangerous.

Visitors appreciated the view, but admitted they are tired of the weather that brought it.

"I`m done with the rain and this next seven to 10 day forecast of nothing but rain," Jay Grabowski said.

Not far from Sheboygan Falls, River Park has been pretty much blocked off because it is all under water. Park sidewalks were closed Thursday, and a bridge was in the stream instead of over it.

In Thiensville, the Milwaukee River is already flooding nearby buildings. Three sump pumps are working to keep the water from rising in the dirt basement of Remington's River Inn.

"Where the water is coming is from the ground water, so it`s just coming up and seeping in there and we`re just pumping her back out," Greg Ollman said.

Jody Purtell took her dog on a walk and noticed her backyard is now in the river.

"The whole backyard is under water. Just had to get things off the floor and get to higher ground," Purtell said.

Thousands of sandbags were packed by volunteers and picked up in the Village of Thiensville Thursday. The last major flood in the area was in 2008.