News

Live in Wauwatosa? Your River may be Green Soon

September 3, 2010

In conjunction with the Engineering firm Kapur & Associates, Visu-Sewer Inc. will be conducting a storm sewer dye flooding project, for the City of Wauwatosa.

The testing will help to determine sources of sanitary sewer infiltration from the storm sewer. They have been asked by the City of Wauwatosa to make residents aware that this project will begin the week of September 7th and conclude in approximately 3 weeks. During this project, the storm sewers will be filled with NON-TOXIC green dye water while the neighboring sanitary sewer is simultaneously televised.

Port of Milwaukee Redevelopment Meeting

August 27, 2010

Tony Zielinski, alderman for Milwaukee's 14th District, will be holding a neighborhood meeting to discuss the Port Redevelopment Plan on Wednesday, September 1st, 6 p.m. at the Port of Milwaukee , 2323 S. Lincoln Memorial Dr.

Did you miss the 4th St. Forum "River Edition?" It's being re-broadcast!

August 27, 2010

Don’t take a vacation from 4th Street Forum.
Watch some of the season's best again -
Sunday mornings at 9 on MPTV Channel 10.1.

This week, August 29, 9AM -
MILWAUKEE’S RIVERS: SEEKING A CLEAR FUTURE
The Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic, the Milwaukee: Our rivers suffered as industry thrived. Today, cleanups continue and new challenges emerge. Will we protect and restore Lake Michigan’s vital tributaries?

After flooding, MMSD considers checkups for sewer laterals

August 23, 2010

[excerpted from JS-Online.com]
by Don Behm

Call it a routine seweroscopy.

It is time to check the inner workings of private sewer laterals, say officials at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Cameras would televise the inside of 6,000 laterals in the next 12 months in a search for cracks or other damage allowing excessive volumes of storm water to enter municipal sanitary sewers, as part of contracts to be considered Monday by the district's commission.

Carp Suit Heading to Court

August 20, 2010

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Milwaukee Riverkeeper, along with countless other environmental groups have been demanding that immediate action be taken against the invasive Asian Carp, which can grow to over 100 pounds and wreak havoc on our Great Lakes' ecosystem.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is demanding immediate closure of navigational locks that separate Chicago rivers from Lake Michigan.

Wisconsin has signed on with other Great Lakes States to force Chicago to do just that. The court case, filed against the Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, will force the locks closed except in emergency situations.

More information can be found below.

Rethink Siting of Campus to Save County Grounds

August 20, 2010

Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Cheryl Nenn, was recently published in a Journal-Sentinel op-ed about UWM's plans to build an engineering campus on the County Grounds, an 89 acre natural area in Wauwatosa.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper believes that UWM's recent effort to get a $12 million TIF district contribution from Wauwatosa taxpayers is a bad gamble on development that may never happen, and there are far better places to develop than a natural area filled with wildlife and used by many for recreation.

More information can be found below.

River Haikus

August 6, 2010

Milwaukee Riverkeeper recently had the distinct honor of being a bonus checkpoint for the Riverwest 24 Hour Bike Race. In lieu of completing laps, riders stopped by Melanec's wheelhouse, took in the river glory, and wrote river haiku's that earned them 2 extra (5 mile) laps.

In case you don't remember 5th grade English class, a traditional English haiku involves one line of 5 syllables, one line of 7 syllables, and a last line of 5 syllables.

A couple of the resulting river haikus are below:

HELP MILWAUKEE RIVERKEEPER EARN UP TO $20,000!

August 6, 2010

Milwaukee Riverkeeper has been named as one of the finalists in the Tom's of Maine "50 States for Good" contest.

Set your outlook, i-phone, blackberry, or Advent Calendar to remind yourself EACH DAY to vote for Milwaukee Riverkeeper at this website:
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/community-involvement/living-well/finalists-overview/poll

If Milwaukee Riverkeeper ranks in the top 5 for most votes, we receive up to $20,000!

More can be Done to Mitigate Storm/Sewage Releases

August 2, 2010

Milwaukee Riverkeeper's Executive Director Karen Schapiro was recently published in an Op-Ed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel regarding MMSD's most recent combined storm water and wastewater overflows into Lake Michigan.

While July 22nd's rain-fall was too much for any city's sewage district to handle, Milwaukee Riverkeeper believes more should be done to alleviate the dumping, which occurs on a frequent basis.

[excerpted from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

By all accounts, the downpour of July 22 was of biblical proportion. As a result of the torrential rains, the sewerage system was overwhelmed and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District discharged more than 2 billion gallons of combined storm water and wastewater into Lake Michigan and area rivers. In addition, an estimated 10,000 residents and businesses were assaulted by flooding and sewage backups, posing damage to property and risk to health.

Take Action for Cleaner Water this Summer!

July 22, 2010

I hope you've gotten a chance to swim, boat, and fish in Wisconsin's beautiful 15,000 lakes this summer without worrying about yucky, green, smelly algal blooms. This serious problem is caused by excess phosphorus that enters our lakes through agricultural and storm runoff and discharges from industry and water treatment plants.

Addressing this problem is long overdue. As of 2010, 1,215 of Wisconsin's water bodies were listed as impaired under section 303 (d) of the Clean Water Act, many due to nutrient pollution.