Shorewood's Water Walk: Green Infrastructure
A StoryMap showcasing Shorewood's green infrastructure practices for around stormwater management. Shorewood Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Shorewood's Water Walk
The Village of Shorewood has an optimal location for freshwater enthusiasts! It is bordered by two major bodies of water: the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, that access comes at a cost. Pollution and flooding both present a problem in urban areas with numerous impervious surfaces. Therefore, the Village has adopted several practices to reduce the amount of pollution by runoff as well as managing stormwater issues.
Stormwater is rain water that washes over the land collecting pollutants, trash, dog waste and chemicals. This can cause flooding, pollution, and erosion in areas surrounding natural bodies of water.
Shorewood’s Water Walk showcases different practices implemented in the Village to combat and control excess stormwater by utilizing green infrastructure strategies. Let’s start our journey in Hubbard Park!
Pervious Pavement
In the spring of 2022, the Hubbard Park parking lot was reconstructed to include areas of pervious pavement and a bioretention swale made up of native plants. These additions allow the lot to manage approximately 30,000 gallons of runoff during a major storm event. Partial funding for the project was provided by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). Click here to get your first clue!
Stormwater Collector
Located in the Shorewood Department of Public Works (DPW) yard on Morris Boulevard, these two large grey tanks have a combined capacity of 10,000 gallons. Installed in 2013, they collect rainwater to be used to maintain public plantings throughout the village. A one-inch rain can fill both of these tanks! Click here to get your next clue!
Milwaukee River Bank Restoration: South side of Capitol Drive
Follow the stone staircase down from Capitol Drive to Shorewood’s Riparian Trail. This walking path was created in 2018, and funded in part by the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Native plantings stabilize the slope and improve stormwater infiltration. Click here to get your next clue!
Median Bioswale: 1225 E. Olive St.
A rain garden in the middle of the street! Installed in 2012, this bioswale is designed to capture and filter street runoff before it reaches the Milwaukee River. These hardy plants thrive in wet conditions and can even handle road salt: wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), little bluestem (Schizachryium scoparium) and New England aster (Aster novae-angliae). Click here to get your next clue!
Wilson Drive Stormwater Features
In 2019, Wilson Drive was reconstructed with better lighting, new trees and landscaping, bike lanes, bus pull-outs, improved pedestrian crossings, and Oak Leaf Trail access. The bioretention swales, landscaped medians, and added catch basins have the ability to remove 1,500 pounds of total suspended solids (TSS) each year. Click here to get your next clue!
Capitol Drive Biofiltration Structures
Stretching from Woodburn Street to Prospect Avenue, these structures were installed in 2010 to capture stormwater from rain events and snow melts. Flow enters the structure, passing through engineered soils and native vegetation which filters out pollutants before the water goes to the storm sewers.
There are five notable sites for these structures on Capitol Drive. Near Culvers you will see heavy metal switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). On the corner of Woodburn Avenue, the biofiltration structure is planted with red twig dogwood (Cornus alba), heavy metal switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and fireworks goldenrod (Solidago rugosa). Two structures near the football field at Shorewood High School are planted with shenandoah switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). The final biofiltration structure on the corner of Oakland and Capitol contains new england and alma potschke aster (Aster novae-angliae, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Alma Potschke’), karl foerster feather reed grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora), and heavy metal switchgrass (Panicum virgatum). Click here to get your sixth clue!
StormGUARDen
This is an innovative new stormwater storage structure that combines a rain garden and a rain barrel. It was installed by Stormwater Solutions Engineering as part of an MMSD project in 2018. Water from the downspout sills into planting containers where special soils filter the water as plants absorb contaminants. It can store over 6 rain barrels worth of rainwater (300 gallons), filtering it before it overflows. An additional unit can be found on the west side of the Village Center. These devices can be installed in your yard, too! Contact the Shorewood DPW for more information. Click here for your seventh clue!
Atwater Bluff Restoration
In July of 2010 a major portion of this bluff collapsed due to a large storm with heavy rains. Areas of the bluff have been planted with native plants and shrubs whose long root systems help stabilize the slope to the beach, preventing future problems. Click here for your final clue!
Quest Complete
Not only can this plant be observed at a number of the sites on this tour, but it is also Shorewood's official native plant . Its long and stretchy root structure allows it to spread quickly and help hold the bluff at Atwater Park together. It is a great plant to introduce to a StormGUARDen due to its tolerance to excessive nutrients as are a majority of native Wisconsin plants as seen in the bioswales. Without these stormwater runoff practices the pollution of our waterways would be out of control. Not to mention the copious amounts of flooding that could occur being so close to two major water bodies. Hopefully, green infrastructure practices will only continue to be more common throughout cities. Now get out to Shorewood to find these practices yourself!
End of Tour: Acknowledgements
This StoryMap guided tour was developed by Ethan Davis and Justin Hougham from the UW-Madison Division of Extension. Funding for this project was provided by University of Wisconsin Sea Grant institute and USDA Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU)- North Central Regional Water Network Special thanks to Shorewood’s DPW and the Shorewood Waters Project who contributed content about these projects that they manage.
(Photo Credit to Paul Matzner).