Milwaukee Waters Investigation
What if community partners came together to support teachers and students in projects that connect them to Milwaukee’s Waterways?
The Milwaukee Waters Investigation is a collaborative effort to connect K12 teachers and their students to Milwaukee's waterways and the professionals in industry, higher education, and nonprofits who work to maintain and improve the quality of water that flows through them.
2024 Investigation
On May 7th, more than 200 students from 7 area schools will gather at Lakeshore State Park. There, they will work with experts from industry, higher education, and nonprofits to investigate water quality, watersheds, and water technology.
2024 Schools
- Brown Deer Middle School
- Cass Street
- Eastbrook Academy
- Glen Hills Middle School
- HW Longfellow
- MacDowell Montessori
- Messmer St. Rose
2024 Project Team
Planning Team
Project Partners
- Badger Meter
- Discovery World
- EarthEcho International
- Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful
- Milwaukee County Parks
- Milwaukee Kayak Company
- Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
- Milwaukee Riverkeeper
- Milwaukee Water Works
- The Nature Conservancy
- Plastic Free MKE
- Reflo
- Riveredge Nature Center
- River Revitalization Foundation
- Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
- Sixteenth Street Community Health Center
- WDNR – Lakeshore State Park
- UWM School of Freshwater Sciences
- UW Extension & Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center
- Veolia Water MKE, LLC
- Wehr Nature Center
2024 Funders
This effort is made possible through the funding and in-kind contributions of:
- Fund for Lake Michigan
- Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.
- Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- The Nature Conservancy
- Wisconsin Coastal Management Program
- Xylem Watermark
2023 Investigation
On May 2nd, 2023, over 325 local students hit our waterways for a citywide beach and river investigation and cleanup. Teachers and their students incorporated this event as part of a long term real-world exploration that focuses on Milwaukee’s Waterways. They have had the support from various community science, education, environmental, and business partners to prepare for this field experience. The program offers professional development for participating teachers as well as access to supporting pre- and post activities.
2023 Schools
- Brown Deer Middle School
- Glen Hills Middle School
- Pathways High
- Lake Bluff Elementary School
- St. Robert School
- Deer Creek Intermediate
2023 Sites
Lake Michigan Beaches
Milwaukee River
Schlitz Audubon Center
The Schlitz Audubon Center hosted 50+ 4th graders from Glen Hills Middle School. Students had the support of volunteers from Xylem & ArtWorks for Milwaukee
Doctors Park
A second group of 50+ 4th graders from Glen Hills Middle School took on the beach at Doctors Park. They had the support of Learn Deep and volunteers from Xylem, UW Extension, Riveredge Nature Center, and Friends of Lakeshore State Park.
Atwater Beach
The Shorewood Waters Project worked with 45 students from Lake Bluff Elementary School on the beach of Atwater Park. They had the support of volunteers from MMSD, Discovery World, Xylem, UW Extension, and Branigan Communications.
Bradford Beach
A team from Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful worked with a group of 30 students from Pathways High School at Bradford Beach. They had the support of volunteers from Xylem and Milwaukee Water Works.
Grant Park
A team from the Wehr Nature Center took the lead at Grant Park. There they hosted 40+ students from Deer Creek Middle School in Saint Francis with the support of volunteers from Xylem, UWM's School of Freshwater Sciences, and Reflo
Badger Meter Park
Badger Meter already has team of employees working with STEM classes at Brown Deer Middle School. On May 2nd, they hosted a group of 30 students from the school at Badger Meter Park with the support of volunteers from Xylem, the River Revitalization Foundation.
Hubbard Park
A team from Riveredge Nature Center and Milwaukee Riverkeeper hosted nearly 40 students from St. Robert School at Hubbard Park. They had the support of volunteers from the River Revitalization Foundation and Xylem.
2023 Student Perceptions
As a closing exercise, site coordinators asked students how the experience left them feeling. We captured the results in a word cloud.
2023 Findings
As part of their investigation, students collected data on weather conditions, water quality, and the amount of trash collected at each site.
The data were shared with Earth Echo and Milwaukee Riverkeeper.
Trash Collection
While the volume of trash collected varied considerably by site, the sites we generally pretty clean. Most of the trash recovered was discarded plastics and paper.
Wind Conditions:
Students faced a cloudy, blustery day.
Water Temperature
Aquatic animals are sensitive to changes in water temperature andmany require a certain temperature range to survive and thrive. If watertemperature is outside that range for a long time, organisms canbecome stressed and die.
Take a look at the temperature data - do you notice changes in the water temperature throughout the day? What could cause the water temperature to change? When might you expect to see cooler or warmer water conditions?
Dissolved Oxygen
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is important to the health of aquatic ecosystems. All aquatic animals need oxygen to survive. Natural waters with consistently high dissolved oxygen levels are most likely healthy and stable environments, and are capable of supporting a diversity of aquatic organisms.
What types of organisms are found living in your local waterway that relies on dissolved oxygen to survive? Do some research with your teacher to determine what levels of dissolved oxygen you should expect to see to support life at your local waterway.
Turbidity
Turbidity is a measurement of the clarity of water.
What are the negative effects of prolonged high turbidity? What makes water turbid?
pH
pH is a measurement of the acidic or basic quality of water. The pH scaleranges from a value of 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic), with 7 beingneutral. Most aquatic animals prefer a range of 6.5 to 8.0. They are adapted to a specific pH level and may die, stop reproducing or moveaway if the pH of the water varies beyond this range.
What are the typical pH levels expected in Milwaukee waterways?
2023 Partners
2023 Funders
In 2023, the MWI project was funded by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office for Coastal Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant # NA22NOS4190085.
with additional support from the Center for Great Lakes Literacy
