Milwaukee Riverkeeper is concerned that MMSD has had their 6th sewage overflow of 2018, tying the record for the most overflows in a year since 1994. Not including the combined sewer overflow event that started last night, there has been over 750 MG of untreated sewage and stormwater released into our rivers since June (and this figure does not include partially treated sewage that has also been released directly from Jones Island). We have had 5 CSOs events since August, which is unprecedented. Although our region has been blanketed by unprecedented rain, having 6 overflows since June harms our waterways. Untreated sewage and stormwater impacts water quality and aquatic life and affects the ability of our community to safely use our rivers and beaches for recreation.
In addition to MMSD, many local municipalities have also released large volumes of untreated sewage to prevent basement backups in their communities. We, as a community, need to come together with our city leaders and leaders at MMSD to aggressively address this problem and devise innovative solutions to fix our old and failing infrastructure.
Efforts to install more green infrastructure and practices to collect, treat, and infiltrate storm water need to be massively scaled up to make a difference. In addition to green infrastructure, we also need to protect our wetlands, floodplains and riverfront natural areas, which help protect our cities from flooding impacts and sewage overflows by soaking in more rain water.
We urge all community members to get involved in being part of the solution.