Some Wisconsin communities hit by the flood of '08 are already running short of contractors to repair damaged property, while it's still too early for repairs in other areas coping with floodwater and groundwater so high springs are squirting through basement floors.

"I just had a lady who called and yelled because the frustration is starting to set in," Julie Loeffelholz, spokeswoman with Grant County Emergency Management west of Madison, said Monday.

"She's called five or six contractors and none of them can come out and take a look because they're all busy. They all have four or five jobs lined up already."

But officials in Jefferson County east of Madison, Iowa and Richland counties to the west, and Sauk County to the northwest, said with water still causing chaos, most residents aren't able to begin repairs. Officials expect the demand for contractors to increase as the waters recede.

Gary Petre, Jefferson County administrator, said officials are waiting for the Rock River to crest in some areas and then settle back into its banks — which may take more than seven weeks — so damage assessments and repairs can begin to roads, bridges, homes and businesses.

In Iowa County

Iowa County Emergency Management Director Ken Palzkill said crews are beginning to fix roads and to inspect and shore up bridges damaged by the flooding. About a dozen members of a church group, Southern Baptists from Tennessee, have begun helping property owners clean up and renovate their homes, Palzkill said, adding that residents appreciate the aid.

He said Iowa County currently has enough local contractors, and "I'm not sure that we're welcoming any outside contractors at this point because of the bad reputation that they have."

The biggest problem, Palzkill said, is the village of Avoca's high groundwater levels — which may remain elevated for many weeks — keeping heavy equipment at bay. The village of about 600 residents is relying on irrigation pumps borrowed from farmers to lower the groundwater level.

"It depends on God and how fast those pumps can work, actually," he said.

With groundwater levels near the surface, the water pushes with tremendous force on basement walls and floors. To keep walls from collapsing, crews must be careful to leave water standing in the basements until the groundwater level is lowered — or risk collapse of the walls.

Palzkill estimates damage to property, roads and bridges in Iowa County is at least $3 million, with most of the damage in Avoca.

"They're talking about some houses being, frankly, destroyed," he said. "The damage is probably far greater than we're currently visualizing. This is big peanuts for a small community."

In Richland County

Richland County Emergency Management Director Darin Gudgeon estimated that 150 to 250 homeowners were enduring basement flooding because of the high groundwater levels.

In a 2-year-old home in Lone Rock, Gudgeon said, "it was like two artesian wells coming into a basement. It's probably coming up 18 inches."

A county employee reported seeing "rooster tails" of water shooting from Highway JJ in Richland County.

Gudgeon said he visited a subdivision in Buena Vista in which six homeowners were pumping more than 8,000 gallons of water per hour from their basements.

Gudgeon and other officials praised the state Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for hustling to deal with the crises.

He also thanked local contractors for being "generous with their time and equipment." There have been no complaints of price gouging, he said.

One contractor hauled debris away from homes for 24 hours and charged the county only for his fuel. A retired firefighter worked 18-hour days for the past week, using a DNR pump to remove water from basements — and refused to accept money, Gudgeon said.

"I feel optimistic because we've got a lot of good people," he said, recounting how they rallied to recover from a tornado in 2005 and floods last year.

In Sauk County

Sauk County Emergency Management Director Jeff Jelinek said that with the opening Monday in Reedsburg of the state's first flood recovery center, residents can stop by to file federal disaster claims, meet with state and county officials and pick up free food, drinks, cleaning supplies and water test kits. That, he said, will clear the way for some to receive government checks to begin rebuilding — and he won't be surprised if there won't be enough contractors to keep up with the demand.

Jelinek's own basement is wet, but he doesn't have time to deal with it.

And one Sauk County family, he said, is enduring a nightmarish problem with their 4-year-old home. They've been pumping the basement since August's floods, racking up electricity bills of $500 a month, yet the foundation walls are buckling and the family has been forced to evacuate.

State Journal reporter Heather LaRoi contributed to this report.