Milwaukee
Riverkeeper Program
Milwaukee Riverkeeper is licensed by the
Waterkeeper Alliance to protect our waterways. As the Milwaukee Riverkeeper,
we identify sources of pollution on our rivers, respond to
citizen complaints and concerns, and work to find solutions to
water quality hazards.
Our Riverkeeper Boat allows us to conduct weekly
patrols of the Milwaukee River estuary.
Menomonee River Bacteria
Testing
We are working on a project in the
Menomonee River watershed aimed at reducing bacteria
loads to help make the river safe for recreational use.
Our focus has been an area in Wauwatosa because modeling
in this area has shown higher than predicted bacteria
levels. We have been sampling stormwater outfalls for E.
coli and having them analyzed to determine if the sewage
is human or animal based. So far we have documented 144
outfalls and found several potential problem outfalls.
Citizen Based Water
Quality Monitoring
Milwaukee Riverkeeper is working
to establish a watershed-wide network of trained citizen
volunteers who monitor streams and rivers, collecting
information in a consistent and useable format.
We launched our program in 2006 and
currently have 58 volunteers monitoring sites throughout
the watershed.
Milwaukee
Central Park
Milwaukee Riverkeeper,
acting as part of the Milwaukee River Work Group, has been
working to create a Central Park along the Milwaukee River
Corridor between North Avenue and Silver Spring Drive. The Milwaukee River Work
Group seeks to create a special zoning district that would limit
new developments along the river, keeping the wild character of
the area intact. The river corridor would become Milwaukee's
own Central Park.
River Cleanups
Our river cleanups engage hundreds of
volunteers each year, who pull literally tons of garbage
out of our rivers.
Upcoming
river cleanups and other events
Milwaukee Urban
Water Trail
An important part of protecting rivers is helping
people to enjoy rivers. That's why Milwaukee Riverkeeper created the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail.
The Milwaukee
Urban Water Trail is a trail and map for canoes, kayaks, and
other small non-motorized boats on the “urban” portions of our
three rivers.
Legal Advocacy
Milwaukee Riverkeeper advocates on behalf of our rivers.
We are currently pursuing litigation against the Milwaukee
Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) for a series of sewer
overflows into the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan.
Urban Wilderness
Through photography and narrative
text, Urban Wilderness documents current conditions in the
Menomonee River.
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