FEMA Awards $3.1 Million Grant to Whitefish Bay

The federal government has confirmed it will award a $3.1 million grant for storm water sewer projects in Whitefish Bay.

In a news release issued by the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency announced it has approved $3.1 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds to Whitefish Bay for the upgrading of several storm sewers, including the construction of the Cahill Park detention basin to alleviate flooding to nearby properties.

“The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program enables communities to implement critical mitigation measures to reduce the risk of loss of life and property,” said FEMA Region V Administrator Andrew Velasquez III. “The improvement to the storm water system will reduce flood damage to nearby homes and other structures, thereby reducing the financial impact on individuals and the community."

“This is the largest construction projected funded through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in Wisconsin,” said Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Brian Satula. “The flooding in 2010 demonstrated the need for  improvements to prevent future flood damage to homes in the area.”

Through the grant, FEMA will pay $3,143,531, or 75 percent of the project’s total cost. The state's Wisconsin Emergency Management agency and the village of Whitefish Bay will each contribute 12.5 percent of the funds, or $523,922 each. 

The Cahill storm water management system would construct a dry detention basin with an eight- to nine-foot drop at the north end of the park by the softball field, allowing roughly 500,000 cubic feet of rain water to drain into the park and provide relief to at least 100 homes in the southern half of the village.

FEMA will reimburse the village for all of the work at Cahill and Estabrook parks, as well as future storm water improvements in the 4700 blocks of Woodruff, Idlewild, Sheffield, Elkhart, Wildwood and Hollywood avenues - as well as in the 500-1000 block of Hampton Road. FEMA requires all of this work to be completed within three years, otherwise the village could request as many as two one-year extensions.