John Schneider
Geography 125
Service Learning Project
Our Dependence on the Milwaukee River
The city of Milwaukee is very privileged in comparison to other cities throughout the
United States because of its close proximity to many different natural features. The east edge is
lined by the massive freshwater body Lake Michigan, the lake is a huge attraction for tourists
and residents because of the excitement it brings throughout the hot summer months. Lake
Michigan is not the only water body located within the city; three major rivers make up the
Milwaukee river basin. The Kinnickinnic, the Menomonie, and the Milwaukee take up 900
square miles of land throughout seven counties of the greater Milwaukee area.
These three rivers are very crucial to all citizens in and around the city of Milwaukee
because there cleanliness is directly related to ours. Each year the rivers get pumped full of
garbage and waste from our careless efforts to pick up after each other.
Eventually these
contaminants find their way downstream to Lake Michigan where they are joined with other
waste from separate entry ways.
This process is never ending because our carelessness is never ending; however this is
not due to miss education but actually due to a lack of education. Many residents within the city
don’t realize how their actions affect themselves along with their families. Right now about 70%
of Milwaukee’s population depends on Lake Michigan for drinking water, however most of that
percent doesn’t know that. It’s not that the water their drinking is hazardous to their health
because many forms of water treatment have to be implemented before its safe enough for us to
drink. The key fact is how much treatment has to be done before its safe. If everyone
consuming the water knew the effects they had on it then hopefully less expensive and lengthy
forms of treatment would be needed. Even the smallest steps make a difference; one cannot
walk down the street without seeing mass quantities of cigarette butts clogging up gutters and
sidewalks. These get washed down the river contaminating every form of life they come in
contact with. If every smoker looked at how disgusting a cigarette butt is in a public water
fountain, then maybe they would think twice before tossing it wherever they please.
Our laziness and carelessness is not the only way contaminants find their way into the
river system. Effects from toxic dumping from old neighboring factories can still be seen today,
however many efforts have been taken to remove what can be along with methods to prevent the
spread of what cannot be removed. The brown zone in which the Riverview dorms sit’s on is
one of these sites that can’t be removed, although its future spread can be. (See Image 1) When
dealing with an issue such as this many factors have to be taken into consideration to make sure
it will benefit the city along with the community for an economically feasible period of time.
The solution to the heavy contaminated soil was simple, a parking lot along with a dormitory
were placed over the contaminated areas to prevent residents from coming into direct contact
with the soil. This method known as capping was done because the contamination was only in
the top layers of soil. If the contamination spread further down, it would eventually drain into
the groundwater which in turn would run into the river. Luckily this was not an issue, making the
process along with the cost much easier to handle.
Another way that waste and garbage finds its way into the river is through seasonal
flooding. (See Image 2) This used to be a major issue because at the time waste water treatment
plants couldn’t keep up with the huge quantity of storm water flowing in causing millions of
gallons of untreated water to flow freely into the river. (See Image 3) This problem was fixed by
building a 23 foot diameter tunnel 360 feet below the ground near the banks of the river’s edge.
This horizontal tunnel acts as a reservoir during heavy rain periods catching and storing storm
water and sewage runoff until amble space is available at a waste water treatment plant to treat it.
The Deep Tunnel severely helped by lowering the amount of annual sewage overflow from
around 50 a year to about 2 a year. Although this has helped significantly, raw sewage still flows
freely causing the need for more work to be done to expand on the tunnel system.
The Milwaukee River Revitalization Foundation is an organization dedicated solely to
the restoration and general upkeep of the three rivers located within the city. They spend
countless hours working to keep the river along with the green space around it in a healthy
condition. However, this cannot be done by only a few people. It takes a city full of educated
citizens that care enough to reduce their waste along with volunteer to reduce the waste of others.
Events are often planned on and around earth day because it’s the one day that people really stop
to take the time to give back. During these events, you will see people working together doing
everything from fishing garbage out of the river to planting trees along the edge of the flood
plain.
The biggest problem with events like these however is the turnout. Advertisements are
usually plastered all over local organic shops along with grocery stores and newspapers. The
river Foundation actually publishes its own monthly paper called the Riverwest Currents, it
provides useful information to citizens regarding how they can live more earth friendly as well as
when and how they can help in their community. Although these fliers and newspapers are
helpful, the location in which they are most often seen is not.
When looking at the breakdown of citizens living on either side of the Milwaukee River,
one can say that there’s a big difference. Race is not too much of an issue when it comes to this
because either side is predominantly white, income however is an issue. Shorewood and
Whitefish Bay are both located on the east side of the river and are comprised of mostly middle
class and higher. According to the 2000 census, Shorewood’s median annual household income
was $47,224 while Whitefish Bays’ was $80,755. On the other hand, on the west side of the
river the median annual income was $35,250. Income level plays a huge role on ones care for
the environment because more often than not going green costs more. The eastside, especially
towards the north by Whitefish Bay, is riddled with organic shops and grocery stores like
Outpost and Whole Foods where advertisements for going green are endless. The west side is
mainly comprised of small corner convenience stores as well as commercial shopping centers
like Pick’n’Save and Aldies where no such advertisement can be found.
This brings up the point of education once more. If people are reminded daily or even
weekly of ways in which they can better there life then most often they will try, especially if they
have the means financially to do it. Advertisements and fliers for going green are kind of an
oxymoron if you think about it. When printed and distributed in an area where people will read
them, nothing is to worry about because hopefully the person who took the time to put it up will
have the time to recycle it properly. However for the areas where their trying to promote more
unwilling people to help makes me skeptical on where that now piece of garbage will end up.
This is why aims to educate citizens at young ages have now been implemented. In a way it’s
like thinking of the old saying you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Old habits are always hard
to break which makes it more beneficial to try and teach the proper routines at a young age
before they become habits.
The Milwaukee River Revitalization Foundation works hand in hand with the Urban
Ecology Center to do just this. (See Image 4 & 5) They put on educated walks throughout the
river basin for students attending Milwaukee public schools in hope to inform them of what’s in
their backyard along with ways in which they can help preserve it. This helps greatly by
teaching kids facts that even their parents might not know, it also helps by giving them a little
taste of the country. This education does not end with the child either, hopefully if the child is
interested in what they learned they will tell their parents about it sparking their interest as well.
This could eventually lead to using the river trails along with the Urban Ecology Center to their
full potential along with maybe arousing them to take family oriented trips outside the city to get
a better perspective on the vast countryside surrounding them.
The foundation does far more than just educate youth on environmental precautions, their
employees and volunteers spend long hard hours carrying out many different tasks. Invasive
species has become a huge problem all over the US, the two main invasive plants causing trouble
are buckthorn and garlic mustard. Garlic mustard has shown to be a problem that only gets
worse if not taken care of right away. It blooms much faster than other plants causing native
plants to receive less sunlight stunting their yearly growth. It also releases seeds very early in the
year causing a need to pick it right away. Buckthorn is a little easier to deal with because there
are far fewer plants that can simply be chopped down at any time of the year. Garlic mustard on
the other hand grows in thousands even millions and must be handpicked before there seeds take
flight.
Native trees and flowers are planted all over the edges of the river. Bright colored trees
and flowers add contrast to the dull forest making a more enjoyable scenery for visitors. After
the removal of the dam at North Avenue, a lot had to be done to restore the once underwater
floodplains. Erosion and runoff is a major issue on the flood plains, that is why heavy rooted
trees were planted near the river’s edge to hold the soil from eroding further. (See Image 6)
Erosion is also a problem at higher ground from bikers and hikers forging their own paths, which
is why many easy access staircases have been put up. (See Image 7) They also help by making it
easier for people to experience the joy of nature by providing several entrance points throughout
the entire length of the river.
For the most part the Foundation does an excellent job with educating and maintaining
the river along with the green space around it, however they fall short when it comes to trail
maintenance. These trails run along the river’s edge as well as up on the hill surrounding it.
People come at all times of the year to go mountain biking, hiking, wildlife watching, fishing,
snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, canoeing, kayaking, and ice skating. For the most part the
trails are fine for all of the above activities except for mountain biking. The trail is riddled with
obstacles that make it nearly impossible to ride without getting off your bike. I’m not trying to
propose an easier course but instead a more manageable one. Fallen down trees from heavy
wind storms turn into stumps, jumps, or narrow passage ways in which the rider must dodge.
(See Image 8) These problems can all be dealt with in a reasonable matter, however it is the
large chunks of rock and concrete located in the middle of the trail that can’t. These dangerous
boulders must either be dug up or chipped away in order to be removed, otherwise they will
continue to pose a risk to the riders safety. (See Image 9)
The River Organization along with the Urban Ecology Center provides a great deal of aid
to the river directly and indirectly however their efforts are not enough. Citizens on both sides of
the river need to come together to work as a team to clean up the pollution and degradation
they’ve caused though their careless neglect.
Milwaukee residents need to realize that they rely
on the river and its surroundings just as much as it relies on them to stay beautiful and healthy.
Until this fact becomes knowledge, no progress can be made.
Image 1
Riverview Dorms represent a solution to problem
with environmental contamination
Image 2
Garbage washed into the river after heavy rainstorm
Image 3
Image 4
Untreated sewage overflow
Trail view of Urban Ecology Center
Image 5
Road view of Urban Ecology Center
Image 6
Flooded trail eroding farther
Image 7
Staircase made by Eagle Scout
Image 8
Narrow passage way loaded with
large chunks of concrete
Image 9
Obstacles faced while riding