Milwaukee's green transformation: Protecting waterways, creating community space

Right under the overpass located at I-43 at Becher Street, you'll notice trees starting to grow, seeds being planted, and bioswales now replacing pavement.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Director of Integrated Watershed Management, Bre Plier, said this is all green infrastructure — using vegetative space and native planting to reduce water runoff into the storm sewer system.

"We try to maximize where we can, holding that water on the land surface where it falls, ensuring that that water slowly infiltrates or slowly enters the sewer system, especially during times of rain. Actually, on this project, if we were to get more than one inch of rain, we could hold 100,000 gallons on this site alone," said Plier.

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If you look at the overpass pavement, you'll notice downspouts. The water is collected and then flows directly to parts of the green space below. This not only helps nourish the trees and native plants but also prevents flooding and overloading the sewer system.

"This used to be a blank, open canvas. So, we added in some rock-lined bioswales, put in over 100 trees here, and disconnected 18 downspouts underneath the bridge so that all the water coming off the road has the ability to feed into the green infrastructure that we put in," said Plier.

Watch: How 'green infrastructure' could eventually mean the end of basement backups:

Milwaukee's green transformation: Protecting waterways and creating community spaces

The green infrastructure project is also protecting our waterways. Highway stormwater runoff is extremely dirty and carries many pollutants from oil to vehicle fluids to salt. During heavy rain events or when snow is melting, these chemicals can drain untreated into Milwaukee rivers and Lake Michigan. This infrastructure site will help prevent water runoff from entering directly into the Kinnickinnic River.

"Essentially, this helps clean up a lot of that really dirty runoff coming from the highway. When you have a lot of water coming in at once, it's generally a lot of pollution and sediments that can be very harmful to fish and aquatic life," said Cheryl Nenn with Milwaukee Riverkeepers.

The Milwaukee Riverkeepers is a nonprofit organization that helps protect water quality and wildlife habitat in the Milwaukee River basin. Nenn said not only is this infrastructure important for preventing pollution in the water, but the design is also providing green space for the community to utilize.

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"The cool thing about this project is that it also creates trails as a part of it. This is a part of the city that sadly doesn't have enough green space. So, it's under the highway, but they have incorporated trails and some beautiful art ideas for people to get from one side of the highway to another, making it a nicer place for people to gather," said Nenn.

And while this is one of four green space overpass sites that MMSD is working on, Plier said MMSD's goal is to have zero overflows and zero basement backups by 2035 using green infrastructure. From pavement to plants, the transformation is something MMSD hopes will help them get closer to their goal and also help beautify the community in the process.

"In the long run, we're also looking for projects that bring additional community benefits, whether that's improving community aesthetics, providing passive recreation, or creating a space that is not necessarily just an empty area but something that adds to the community and the look of the community," said Plier.

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