Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management
The Kinnickinnic River Watershed, covering approximately 25 square miles, is the most urbanized watershed in Wisconsin. Decades-old solutions to address flooding in this area have proven to be ineffective and sometimes even dangerous. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), along with several government and non-government agencies and organizations, are addressing the problem through the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan. This multi-phase plan reduces the risk of flooding, improves water quality and benefits communities through a number of improvements.
Problem
More than 660 homes and businesses are currently located within the 100-year floodplain and are at a high risk of flooding.
Solution
The Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s mission is to protect public health and the environment through world-class, cost-effective water resource management, leadership, and partnerships.
The Kinnickinnic River Watershed
A watershed is the land that channels rain and melting snow to a stream or river leading to a body of water. The Kinnickinnic River Watershed, located in Milwaukee County, covers 25 square miles and empties directly into Lake Michigan.
As a result of urbanization, nearly 50 percent of the surfaces within this watershed are impervious, such as streets, parking lots, and rooftops, which prevents rain and melting snow from naturally being absorbed back into the soil. Unfortunately, during storm events, water flows quickly off these surfaces and overwhelms the streams, which drastically increases the risk of flooding.
Kinnickinnic River and Tributary Streams
Explore the tributary streams that flow into the Kinnickinnic River by clicking the buttons below.
Communities within the Kinnickinnic Watershed
Six Milwaukee County municipalities lie within the Kinnickinnic River Watershed: Cudahy, Greenfield, Milwaukee, St. Francis, West Milwaukee, and West Allis.
Kinnickinnic River Watershed Communities
100 Year Floodplain
Although commonly referred to as a “100-year flood,” the high-hazard floodplain is actually defined as the “one-percent annual probability” floodplain. In any given year, there is a one percent chance this area will experience a flood of this magnitude. Over the span of 30 years—the common length of a home mortgage—there is a 26 percent chance that home will experience a flood event of this size.
Significant progress has been made to restore the Kinnickinnic River, but more than 660 homes and businesses remain within the high-hazard, 100-year floodplain of the Kinnickinnic River Watershed and are at considerable risk of flooding.
View Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission flood zones throughout the Kinnickinnic River Watershed on the map on the right.
History of the Kinnickinnic River Watershed
The Kinnickinnic River was once a tree-lined stream with natural springs, fishing holes and abundant wildlife. Wetlands were replaced with impervious surfaces as Milwaukee became increasingly urbanized. The natural drainage system for the watershed was lost, leaving water with nowhere to go and making the area particularly prone to flooding.
Swipe to view the changes in the Kinnickinnic River Watershed. The map on the left shows the USGS Historical Streams (1901-1906). The map on the right shows the impervious development (orange) within the watershed today.
Historical Approach to Flood Management
Kinnickinnic River Channel Rushing Water
In the past, the approach used to address flooding issues was to move water through the river systems as fast as possible. To accomplish this, areas of the Kinnickinnic River were “channelized” by lining them with concrete in the early 1960s.
W Side of S 8th Street Bridge Looking West
The concrete channels were successful at quickly moving water through the system. Unfortunately, it also created several significant problems:
- Habitat was removed
- Water quality degraded
- Dangerous flow conditions were created
- Downstream flooding worsened
Kinnickinnic River Concrete Channels in Disrepair
More than 8 miles of waterways are either concrete lined or enclosed in culverts—tunnels that route a stream under roadways, railroad tracks, parking lots, structures and parklands. These creates a dangerous flow velocity of greater than 20-feet per second—faster than white water rapids—which have led to numerous drowning or near-drowning incidents throughout the years.
Most of the culverts and concrete-lined channels are in poor condition and reaching the end of their useful life.
There is also the public perception that the concrete-lined streams are actually open sewers or drainage ditches, rather than waterways that feed into Lake Michigan.
Restoring the Natural Flow
Restoring the natural flow of a streams improves water quality. Water flowing through rock-lined streams restores natural turbulence, which was nearly eliminated by concrete. The churning motion aerates the water, which increases vital dissolved oxygen levels and slows the water flow. The turbulence and aeration allow organic materials and pollutants an opportunity to break down rather than being quickly transported downstream and deposited in estuaries, which contributes to “dead zones” at the river’s end.
MMSD Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan
MMSD and its partners created the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan to:
- Reduce flood risks
- Improve stream habitat and water quality
- Revitalize communities
There were many homes and businesses located in the high-hazard 100-year floodplain of the Kinnickinnic River Watershed. Significant progress has been made in executing the plan, but more than 660 homes remain in the floodplain.
MMSD has identified several improvements across the watershed to implement the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan . Click on the point markers for identification of the projects currently listed in MMSD’s Capital Budget.
Kinnickinnic River Watershed Capital Projects
Objectives of the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan
There are many components to the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan to reduce the potential for flooding.
- Replace more than seven miles of concrete lining or enclosed culverts with a natural stream design.
- Expand river corridors to allow flood flows to pass, rather than spill into neighborhoods and businesses.
- Increase flow capacity under 20 bridges and culverts to allow the flood flows to pass.
- Acquire land and either excavate or lower the elevation to create flood storage detention areas.
- Reshape the land along the waterways within Milwaukee County Parks system to improve flood storage benefits as well as improve park areas and assets.
- Improve connectivity and habitat for aquatic and terrestrial species along the restored stream corridors.
- Elevate public safety, particularly reducing the risk of drowning.
- Improve water quality.
- Increase public understanding of flood risks, the connection between our neighborhoods and Lake Michigan, and the benefits of riparian corridors (natural areas along our waterways).
- Leverage additional community improvements.
Slide show photo credit: Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc.
Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan Active Projects
- Pulaski Park Project. Remove 1,600 feet of concrete channel lining, improve two bridges, and enhance Milwaukee County Parks’ assets.
- Wilson Park Creek Reach 3 Project. Remove 2,100 feet of concrete channel lining from Wilson Park Creek, improve two bridges, and construct a new flood storage detention basin.
- Jackson Park Project. Remove more than 2,100 feet of concrete channel lining, reshape portions of the park to improve flood storage and enhance Milwaukee County Parks’ assets.
- Kinnickinnic River between 6th and 16th Street Project. Remove 4,000 feet of concrete channel lining, expand channel from 50 to 200 feet, acquire and remove 83 homes, and improve five bridges.
Partnerships
The budget to implement the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan is more than $350 million with funds coming from several sources.
MMSD has sought federal funding and assistance to implement a portion of the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan. It has also created partnerships to help with additional funding and implementation of Plan objectives that are outside MMSD’s authority to budget tax-payer dollars.
Our partners in implementing the plan include:
- City of Milwaukee
- Milwaukee County
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- US EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
- Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Sixteenth Street Community Health Center
- Local Community Partners
Community Partnerships Bring Additional Benefits
Many of the projects related to the Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan have additional benefits residents can enjoy such as trails, overlooks, and connections to neighborhoods. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District partners with several trusted community entities to engage residents around the projects and bring these additional benefits, which are often beyond the scope of MMSD.
These partnerships frequently improve access, environmental awareness, and stewardship. By creating a sense of place, the surrounding community values the stream corridors, neighbors begin to care for the space, and individuals realize the impacts of their actions across the watershed. These connections are made by our partnerships with other governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community groups.
The end result of this collaborative effort is a multi-benefit project that reduces the flood risk, restores the environment, and enhances the local community.
How You Can Get Involved
- For project updates and information on upcoming events, follow us on YouTube , Facebook , Instagram , Twitter and LinkedIn .
- Sign up for our email newsletter, Blue Notes , for quarterly updates and news about our local waterways from Kevin Shafer, executive director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
- How you can help keep our waterways clean: Add a rain barrel to your yard to collect rain water, plant a rain garden, dispose of hazard household waste and expired medicines at designated drop off sites, volunteer to help clean-up the Kinnickinnic River through Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s Adopt-A-River program or find a river clean-up event near you.
If you live in communities in or near the Kinnickinnic River Watershed there are several ways to get involved:
Resources
- Kinnickinnic River Watershed Flood Management Plan
- Kinnickinnic Neighborhood Plan - Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , C hapter 4
- Kinnickinnic River Watershed DNR.pdf
- http://sschc.org/health-community/environmental-health/revitalization-of-the-kinnickinnic-river/
- ht tp://sschc.org/health-community/environmental-health/restoration-of-the-kinnickinnic-river-watershed/
- https://www.americanrivers.org/river/kinnickinnic/
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