Adopt-A-River

A Rewarding Commitment to Restoring Our Waters

Did you know that you can adopt a section of our waterways? By committing to clean up a section two or more times a year, you will steward your own section of the Milwaukee River Basin and join a community of adopters working to restore our waterways.

Who Can Adopt a River?
  • Individuals & Families
  • Companies
  • Organizations
  • Community Groups
Carroll University participating in Adopt-a-River

Help Restore Our Waterways

Our waterways need you! The rivers, and the pollution within, connect to Lake Michigan the source of our drinking water. Our health depends on clean water and the wildlife that live there, do too. The waterways need your help and dedication to protect this delicate ecosystem:

Did you know?
  • 85% of fish in the Milwaukee River have plastic in their digestive tracts.
  • More than 85 % of trash found in our rivers during cleanups is single-use plastic.
  • Most litter we find is plastic and/or toxic – like food wrappers, cigarette butts, plastic bags, plastic bottles, and take out containers.

How Does Adopting a Section of River Help?

As a River Adopter, your commitment and work help to maintain:
Healthier habitats for wildlife & aquatic animals

Healthier habitats for wildlife & aquatic animals

Mitigation of microplastics in our waterways

Mitigation of microplastics in our waterways

Healthy native plant life

Healthy native plant life

Beautiful, local waterways for recreating

Beautiful, local waterways for recreating

Opportunities to volunteer with friends & neighbors

Opportunities to volunteer with friends & neighbors

What Responsibilities do River Adopters Have?

Individuals, families, and groups commit to, and coordinate, cleaning up their section of the waterway at least two times a year. Milwaukee Riverkeeper will organize trash removal, provide supplies, safety tips and support.

Our volunteers are the eyes and ears of our waterways. Adopters often become intimately familiar with their unique section of river, reporting issues and concerns throughout the season. The Adopt-A-River community supports ongoing research about pollution in the Milwaukee River Basin, collecting critical data used to find solutions to stop litter at the source.

Looking for other ways to help your section of river thrive:
  • Planting Native Trees
  • Removing Harmful Non-Native Vegetation
  • Regularly Monitoring Water Quality
  • Reporting Pollution
  • Hosting Recreation Outings
  • Hosting a Program or Presentation
Adopt a River Collage
Light Blue Bottom

What Sections of Our Waterways Are Available?

The Milwaukee River Basin is 882.3 square miles and contains 875 river miles that flow into Lake Michigan! It is made up of 3 watersheds and over 1.3 million people rely on our waters for recreation, transportation, economic services, and drinking water!

As an adopter, you can choose from a wide array of locations throughout our area, including locations on:

A Different Way to Make a Difference

Support Our Communities and Your Team

Giving back doesn’t have to be boring, and when you adopt a section of one of our local rivers, you can give back while getting outside and connecting with our environment. Our Adopt-A-River program is an ideal opportunity for teams who want to roll up their sleeves and dive right in. Express your love for the communities you serve with real, actionable volunteerism that offers up immediate results that you can feel proud of.

Businesses & Organizations Just Like Yours Are Making a Huge Impact
In 2024
Donation Hours Icon

3,513 volunteers donated their time

Individual Cleanups Icon

205 individual cleanups were hosted

Trash Removed Icon

52,000 pounds of trash were removed from our rivers

Volunteers participating in Adopt-a-River program

Adopting a River Can Benefit You, Too!

Adopting a section of one of our three rivers ultimately leads to a cleaner, healthier watershed and a cleaner and healthier community! It’s also a great way to:

  • Create healthier habitat for wildlife and aquatic animals,
  • Build fieldwork into your educational curriculum
  • Build teamwork while giving back to your community
  • Fulfill volunteer hours while exploring the watershed you live in

We jumped at the opportunity to participate in the new Adopt-A-River Program

because we know that protecting and connecting our people to our rivers will build a healthier and stronger community. It’s a great way for our staff to collaborate outside the office, have fun, and serve our community – all at the same time.”
—Adopting Business

Freshwater Mussel
Tree Swallow

Sign Up to Adopt-A-River Today!

Please fill out the form below and a member of the MRK team will reach out shortly to review details and help you take your next steps as an official River Adopter!

Adopt a River

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Meet Our Amazing River Adopters!

We are honored to work with such incredible businesses, groups, and individuals throughout Southeastern Wisconsin to keep help restore the Milwaukee River Basin! Explore our Adopters by location below:

Milwaukee River Watershed
  • Get Busy Livin’
  • M Squared Engineering
  • Rotary Club of Cedarburg-Grafton
  • Charter Steel
  • John Jansen
  • Kewaskum Mighty River Project
  • Kristina & Alex Walbrun
  • Ozaukee Washington Land Trust
  • Riveredge Nature Center
  • Scott Padgett
  • Silent Wake, LLC
  • Wander & Co
  • You can adopt this river!
  • Alexander Hamilton High School
  • Badger Meter
  • Boat MKE
  • Brian Flood
  • Brown Deer High School Outdoor Education
  • Camp Fritz Family
  • Catch-22 Creative
  • City of Milwaukee Health Department Consumer Environmental Health
  • Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshrun
  • Congregation Sinai
  • Core Creative
  • Dan Puerling
  • David Thomas & Diane Steigerwald
  • Don Raba
  • Edelweiss Cruises
  • Eric & Lucy Korbitz
  • EY
  • Forward Outdoor
  • Friends of Kletzsch Park
  • Friends of Lakeshore State Park
  • Friends of Lincoln Park
  • Greater Milwaukee Foundation
  • Groundwork Milwaukee
  • Gunpowder, Inc
  • Gustavo Grunbaum
  • Homeschool Teens of Southeast WI
  • Isaac & Alanna Steeves
  • Jerry Williams
  • Kapur & Associates
  • Karen Morice
  • Ken Edwards
  • Lakefront Brewery
  • Milwaukee Admirals
  • Milwaukee Rotary Club of Amigos
  • Milwaukee Boat Line
  • Milwaukee Friends Meeting
  • Milwaukee Kayak Company
  • MKE: Action
  • MT Chamber Young Professionals
  • MTO Shahmaghsoudi
  • Odell Brewing
  • Novozoymes Bioag
  • Ozaukee Washington Land Trust
  • Peter Thornquist
  • Point on the River Condo Association
  • Riverwater Partners
  • SEAL Analytical
  • Shannon McGinnis
  • Shorewood Conservation Committee & Parks Commission
  • Sierra Club
  • Smith Group
  • The Buzzed Word
  • The Probst Group
  • Troubadour Bakery
  • Urban Ecology Center – Riverside Park
  • UW-Milwaukee
  • UWM Honors College Alternative Spring Break Club
  • Water Tech
  • Xylem
  • YMCA of Metro Milwaukee
  • Zurn Elkay Water Solutions
Kinnickinnic River Watershed
  • Amazon MKE
  • Aqualis
  • Boone & Crockett
  • Carlos Mayorga
  • Courage MKE
  • Daughters of the American Revolution
  • Elizabeth Blackwood
  • Inpro
  • Jackson Park Community Association
  • Jen Schrank
  • Kevin Shermach
  • Kinnickinnic River Neighbors in Action
  • La Causa Charter School
  • Mary Plaski
  • Matt Wolter
  • Sixteenth Street Community Health Center
  • UWM Student Water Council
  • Zach Jensen
Menomonee River Watershed
  • All Hands Boatworks
  • Andrew Schmitt
  • Billy Baldus
  • Blake George
  • Bostik Inc.
  • Boy Scout Troop 38
  • Boy Scout Troop 260
  • Boy Scout Troop 731
  • Brockman Family
  • Bryan Cyra
  • Buckthorn Project
  • Caroline Ho
  • Christa Gensler
  • Cub Scout Pack 147
  • Current Electric
  • Communicor
  • ConsortiEx, Inc
  • Danger Buddies LLC
  • Dawn & John Zandt
  • Derco Aerospace Inc.
  • Elizabeth Allen
  • Froedtert Hospital MICU
  • Greendale Middle School
  • Greenfield High School National Honor Society
  • Harley Davidson Motor Company
  • Jackie Denek & Tim Burton
  • John & Jean Schindler
  • Katie Hassing
  • Kristen Boyce
  • Laura & Paul Thompson
  • Lisette Garcia
  • Magellan Promotions
  • Marty Honel
  • Mike Prevetti
  • Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club
  • Milwaukee Tool
  • Milwaukee County Zoo
  • Milwaukee Manatees Underwater Hockey
  • Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)
  • Monica & Mark Dombeck
  • Outwoken Tea
  • Physicians Realty Trust
  • Plunkett-Raysich Architects
  • Purevant Living
  • raSmith
  • RES
  • Rob Marak
  • Robert Tynan
  • Shoreline Saviors
  • Spectrum Investment Advisors
  • Steve Komes
  • St Pius Catholic Church Wauwatosa
  • The Probst Group
  • Tony Peacock
  • Tom Herely
  • Urban Ecology Center – Menomonee Valley Branch
  • Urban Ecology Center – Washington Park Branch
  • Unitarian Universalist Church West
  • Wilson Elementary
  • Workday
  • Xylem
  • Zoological Society of Milwaukee
A PROGRAM OF
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