Local Leaders Convene First Meeting of Flood Mitigation Task Force to Address Current and Future Storm Safety Work
MILWAUKEE – Today, leaders and officials representing Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) convened the first meeting of the combined Flood Mitigation Task Force to plan for both short-term and long-term flooding safety work.
The task force has brought together the expertise of MMSD, the City of Milwaukee, and Milwaukee County to address the increasing frequency of serious flooding in the southeast Milwaukee region. Today’s organizational meeting focused on task force roles and responsibilities, current and future initiatives to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events, and next steps in identifying short- and long-term improvements to reduce the risk of flooding and basement backups.
As the effects of climate change continue impacting Wisconsin, County Executive David Crowley believes investing in more resilient infrastructure will help ensure Milwaukee roads, bridges, and parks can withstand future weather events, streamline repairs, and save taxpayer dollars in the long-run.
“We are taking action before the next major flood or storm further damages the roads, bridges, parks, and essential infrastructure that residents rely on,” said County Executive Crowley. “The Flood Mitigation Task Force represents an expansion of our existing regional partnerships to share resources and identify solutions on how we continue working together to navigate our evolving climate, protect our communities, and prepare for extreme weather events in the future.”
Flooding events last August and again in April wreaked major damage to homes, businesses, and streets in the City of Milwaukee. Mayor Cavalier Johnson and his administration have taken proactive steps to repair the recent infrastructure damage and plan for future extreme weather events.
“Collectively, we are preparing for more frequent flooding events. We have to because climate change, and empirical evidence, have exposed infrastructure limitations in our region,” Mayor Johnson said. “It is important that all of the local governmental agencies cooperate in the flood prevention planning, and that we bring in additional expertise as we reduce the dangers that future intense rain events present.”
MMSD has invested hundreds-of-millions of dollars in flood prevention work, and that has eased the severity of recent major rain events. The district has continuing plans to keep that work going, including a focus on the Kinnickinnic River vicinity where hundreds of homes remain in the floodplain. The KK River is in the most densely populated watershed in the State of Wisconsin.
“We all need to work together to help reduce the heartache caused by these more frequent, record rainfalls,” said MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer. “The weather is changing and we need to act now because solutions may take years to implement. The Flood Mitigation Task Force is an excellent opportunity for us all to come together.”
The Flood Mitigation Task Force will continue meeting in the weeks ahead and anticipates producing recommendations later this year.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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