MMSD Will Build Stormwater Infrastructure in Washington Park

Washington Park. Photo taken Nov. 1. 2022 by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

Washington Park is getting nearly 20,000 gallons of stormwater capturing infrastructure.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is funding 10,672 square feet of native landscaping, 1,860 square feet of porous pavement and 1,115 square feet of bioswales, which are natural features that collect and filter stormwater runoff. Once finished, it will be able to capture and hold approximately 18,212 gallons of stormwater at once, according to Milwaukee County Parks.

The parks department is preparing to grant MMSD a 20-year conservation easement for the work in the park. The Urban Ecology Center (UEC), which leases land in the park for its Washington Park branch, applied for the grant.

“The incorporation of stormwater management features is central to our work as a environmental community center,” as Marcos Guevara, vice president of strategy and operations for community engagement, told Urban Milwaukee.

The UEC applied for funding under MMSD’s Green Infrastructure Partnerships Program, which awarded $3.5 million to 11 projects across the county last year. The program provides reimbursement on a per-gallon basis for projects creating infrastructure that capture stormwater and cleans it on site.

Flood prevention, stormwater management and keeping sewerage out of our local water are all connected for MMSD. Capturing stormwater on-site when it rains means less water enters the combined sewer system. That increases the stormwater capacity of the system and prevents overflows.

The sewerage district is working to stay on top of stormwater in the region as climate change increases the frequency of major rain events and flooding. In 2022, the district secured a $42 million loan from the federal government to, among other things, construct a massive, 31-million-gallon storage basin called West Basin.

The UEC recently finished a renovation and expansion of its Washington Park branch, a location it has maintained for nearly two decades. The now entirely electric building includes a new community and environmental education center that was added. Capacity for K-12 school partnerships was doubled. And new early childhood education programming was launched.

The new stormwater project dovetails with the UEC’s mission to protect the urban natural environment and make it accessible for people, Guevara said.