Milwaukee’s Storm Cleanup Effort By The Numbers

Debris picked up as part of the city’s post-flood bulky item pickup. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The impact of the 1,000-year storm that dumped billions of gallons of water on Milwaukee and surrounding communities on Aug. 9 and 10 continues to be felt, and counted.

While federal officials from FEMA were surveying the area for a second day in advance of a possible federal emergency declaration, local officials shared details of the impact of the devastation, praised those working long hours to clean up and highlighted ways for residents to get help.

“It’s important to document almost everything,” said Congresswoman Gwen Moore at a press conference Friday morning at the city’s North Drop Off Center, 6600 N. Industrial Rd.. She encouraged residents to call 211 if they suffered damage and to take photos or videos of the damage.

“There are no checks in the mail at this point,” said Moore, though she said she was optimistic that the region would qualify for federal aid.

She also thanked all of her Wisconsin colleagues in Washington D.C., including senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, for signing a letter requesting aid. “We are so often tearing each other apart on a partisan basis, but they have all come together to request assistance from FEMA,” said the congresswoman.

Residents who call 211 or use the reporting website may be contacted by an outside agency to help with cleanup.

“One that I’d like to point out is Crisis Cleanup,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “They won’t ask for any contracts. They won’t ask for any money.” He also stressed that individuals should be careful to work with agencies recommended through proper reporting channels.

Facts and Figures Emerge

While much of the initial impact of the storm was captured visually, in the form of videos of water going over bridges or people hauling damaged possessions out of flooded basements, the scale of the storm is now taking on a data-driven form as area officials make their case to FEMA.

Most notably, 53% of the more than 3,400 properties surveyed by Milwaukee County were “destroyed” or sustained “major damage.” That figure, which is from Tuesday, is augmented by an updated total from Milwaukee County of damage to its public infrastructure in excess of $34 million.

More than 19,000 reports, spanning nine counties, have been made via the 211 service.

City of Milwaukee officials are still tabulating a cost, which runs from damaged libraries to overtime for public works employees, in part because it keeps growing.

“When it’s all over, we’ll be able to give the public what that impact is,” said Department of Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke

But Kruschke already has several other figures available.

On Monday following the storm, Kruschke said the city received 3,500 calls to its unified call center, triple its normal volume. “Every one of those represents a resident in need,” said the commissioner.

DPW has responded to more than 450 calls for downed tree limbs and 200 area street light outages.

“All of these have been in addition to the significant work done by our sanitation crews, who continue to remove large volumes of debris from across the city,” said Kruschke.

The city’s two drop-off centers will continue to be free through Aug. 31.

“We had 14,473 vehicles pass through the drop-off centers [since Monday, Aug. 11],” said Kruschke. “That’s a huge increase from what we normally see, and this is all flooded material.”

A DPW press release says it is a 50% increase on normal visit volumes. The waste volume is an extra expense for the city.

The volume remains elevated, said Kruschke. “Just yesterday, we had 1,332, so the volume is still high.”

The city is also still deploying special skid steer crews to make free bulky curbside pickups. Kruschke said DPW has picked up debris at more than 9,200 homes and is continuing at a rate of 1,000 to 1,500 collections per day. But new calls keep coming in. “We’re still seeing about 400 to 600 [calls for pickups] come in on a daily basis.”

The final day to request a free pickup is Aug. 31.

Over Kruschke’s shoulder, the results could be clearly seen. A massive pile of debris was being loaded into semi-trailers to be hauled off to landfills. The compressors in the adjacent building were damaged in the storm, said Kruschke, so DPW has been forced to haul more loads with private contractors than it usually would while already dealing with a massive surge in volume.

The city is using 45 extra pieces of equipment for the cleanup, 39 from private contractors and six from Milwaukee County.

“Sewer crews have responded to more than 1,900 reports of basement backups and approximately 230 calls related to clogged catch basins and surface,” says a DPW press release issued Friday evening.

“It’s not over,” said the commissioner of the ongoing effort.

The mayor opened his remarks praising the efforts of city workers. “What they’ve done is admirable, including when many of them have been suffering from some of the same issues in their own homes,” said Johnson.

Cleanup Resources

After surveying the activity and greeting workers at the drop-off center, Johnson and Moore visited a Salvation Army distribution center, 4129 W. Villard Ave.

“There’s some really incredible work that is happening here,” said Johnson as Milwaukee Health Department employees assisted The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County workers and volunteers in distributing cleanup kits in five-gallon buckets, N95 masks and bottled water.

“The mold, the mildew, the damage from sewage is not going to wait on FEMA to issue its resources,” said Moore. “We are all neighbors. We’re in it all together. And until the federal response comes in, I’m just going to say I’m really proud of this.”

Salvation Army Captain Shanell Johnson said the agency has distributed 500 to 600 kits every day. Included is detergent, rags, scrub brushes, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, sprays, wipes and “things that will help people to be able to manage some of the mold and some of the mildew.”

The health department and Salvation Army will distribute kits Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals can drive or walk through the parking lot to be provided a kit.

The latest kits have been donated by Midwest Food Bank and United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Deputy Health Commissioner Tyler Weber said the most important thing to combat mold and mildew was to remove anything capable of holding water. He also suggested purchasing a dehumidifier to dry out impacted areas.

“People ideally should nto be doing this work alone,” said Weber.

“We are concerned in the long term with mold and mildew in these homes,” he said. “We have to make sure that landlords are taking care of the properties for their tenants, so we know we’ll be working with the Department of Neighborhood Services on this effort.”

The Milwaukee Public Library is also distributing free N95 masks at all of its branches. The masks, which became well known during the COVID-19 pandemic, also block mold spores and can allow individuals to work safely in flooded areas.

A private giveaway is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Lamb of God Missionary Baptist Church, 8415 W. Bradley Rd. In addition to cleaning supplies, giveaways are said to include diapers, blankets and chargers.

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