Rivers, Streams, Oh My

Milwaukee Riverkeeper was recently praised in a recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article regarding continued progress toward restoring our local rivers and streams.  We thank them for their continued coverage on important environmental issues.

[excerpted from the Journal-Sentinel]

Rivers, Streams, Oh My

Who says government can't do anything right? OK, almost everyone, and sometimes the accusation of incompetence is justified. Nevertheless, government often does get things right - and that's exactly what it's doing in regard to Milwaukee-area waterways.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, in conjunction with federal, state and local governments such as the City of Milwaukee, is improving the health of area rivers and streams, reducing the potential for dangerous and costly flooding and setting aside green space for future generations. Consider three recent examples, all noted by Journal Sentinel reporter Don Behm in recent articles:

Up to $5.9 million in federal flood recovery grants awarded to Milwaukee last month is expected to spur housing relocation and rehabilitation plans along the Kinnickinnic River downstream of S. 27th St. As many as 150 households will be displaced in the next five years as 82 single-family homes and duplexes are removed from a short stretch of the river's floodplain from S. 16th to S. 6th streets. The plans are part of a flood management project that will widen the river channel, allowing the channel to better absorb flood waters and slow down their flow.

More than 50 acres of floodplain along the Little Menomonee River in Mequon will be preserved as open space to store spring floodwaters and provide spawning habitat for fish. The district's commission approved spending $290,000 to acquire 55 acres along the river, north of Mequon Road. The district will purchase the property through its Greenseams flood management program. The program buys lowland properties or acquires conservation easements restricting development of land with the goal of alleviating downstream flooding.

The district also will spend up to $4.9 million next year to remove 1,000 feet of concrete from the bed of the Menomonee River, north of Wisconsin Ave., in Milwaukee. When the work is done, fish from Lake Michigan - northern pike, walleye, steelhead and salmon - will be able to swim freely up the main river to Menomonee Falls and up several of its tributaries, including the Little Menomonee.

Area waterways still need work, but the fact is they are healthier than they were decades ago, as Karen M. Schapiro, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper, noted in a recent letter to the editor.

For that, citizens can thank volunteers and groups such as Milwaukee Riverkeeper who care about our waters - and they can thank governments that have given those waters a high priority.