Parks Suffered Serious Flood Damage
Dozens of sites damaged. County Executive Crowley repeats call for federal assistance.

County Executive David Crowley observes flood damage to Oak Leaf Trail in Wauwatosa. Photo taken Aug. 25, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.
Trees down everywhere, waterlogged golf courses, sinkholes, bike paths washed away.
The Milwaukee County Parks system experienced significant damage during the historic flooding more than two weeks ago. The parks department is still working to get a handle on just how much damage occurred. For now, staff are documenting the damage, hoping for support from the federal government.
Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently arrived in Milwaukee County and are assessing damage. The assessment will inform whether or not a Presidential Disaster Declaration is issued, which is critical to receiving federal disaster assistance.
Just like the rest of Milwaukee, the parks system will need federal assistance to rebuild to where it needs to be, said County Executive David Crowley.
“But as you can see, this is going to be costly damage for us moving forward,” Crowley said. “And so hopefully we’ll see some type of declaration coming from the president, but only time will tell.”
The county executive joined Parks Director Guy Smith on a tour of three sites in Wauwatosa Monday, in areas that experienced severe flooding. He visited Currie Park Golf Course, which hasn’t completely reopened and where downed trees dot the park. He also visited Jacobus Park, where four feet of water overtook the parkway and flooded a park building.
Local media were invited to join the county executive for a final stop underneath Harmonee Avenue Bridge. There, a huge chunk of trail had washed out on the south side of the Menomonee River. It is a section of the Oak Leaf Trail‘s Menomonee Line, running alongside the river from which it gets its name.
Smith said the department is still working on developing a complete cost estimate for all of the damage across the system. Some of the cost will come in the way of Parks staff labor that is being used to clean up buildings and fix infrastructure. For example, after the storm passed, staff were pulling picnic tables and glassware from the Whitnall Park Beer Garden out of the Root River.
But at each site they visited Monday, the damage was estimated at $50,000 or more, and there are dozens of sites across the system. For all public infrastructure across the county, Crowley said the latest figure he saw put the damage at more than $34 million.
Wauwatosa was particularly hard hit during the floods. Local Sup. Shawn Rolland joined Crowley and Smith Tuesday. “This has been a tough couple days for everybody in Wauwatosa,” Rolland said, “and while there are still bridges that are out, I’m hearing that there’s more opening in the coming days, so there’s good news happening all the time.”
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More about the 1000 Year Storm
- FEMA Assistance Pop-Ups Coming to Milwaukee County - Graham Kilmer - Oct 2nd, 2025
- Wisconsin Emergency Management WEM, DATCP warn people to be vigilant for scammers amid Individual Assistance process - Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs - Oct 1st, 2025
- Wisconsin Disaster Recovery Update - FEMA - Sep 26th, 2025
- Disaster Centers Will Help With Applications for Federal Funding - Graham Kilmer - Sep 23rd, 2025
- Men Still Missing from Riverside Homeless Camp After Flooding - Evan Casey - Sep 23rd, 2025
- Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Announces Disaster Recovery Centers - David Crowley - Sep 23rd, 2025
- DWD Announces Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Wisconsinites Impacted by Recent Severe Storms and Historic Flooding - Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development - Sep 19th, 2025
- Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Shares Update on Federal Funding Assistance - David Crowley - Sep 19th, 2025
- City Hall: Milwaukee Will Provide Cash For Some Homeowners’ Flood Repairs - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 17th, 2025
- File suspending permit fees for projects related to flood damage approved by committee - Ald. Lamont Westmoreland - Sep 17th, 2025
Read more about 1000 Year Storm here
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