Record high flood waters along the Wisconsin River are threatening to breach a levee in the city of Portage, Wisc.

Ken Jahn is the Mayor of Portage. He says state agencies have encouraged nearby residents to evacuate the area. But Jahn says there are still some 25 families remaining in their homes near the weakened levee.

JAHN: Those that are there are getting to a point that if the levee were to break we wouldn’t be able to get them out if we wanted to without using a boat because the roads will probably be underwater and not passible.

Wisconsin’s governor has issued a state of emergency for the affected area in Columbia County north of Madison.

Columbia is the eighth county in Wisconsin since last week to receive state of emergency status.