The Water Puzzle

Milwaukee, home to almost 600,000 people, is Wisconsin's largest city. Situated on the shore of Lake Michigan, and at the convergence of three rivers, the city is surrounded by freshwater. Historically, the rivers have supported industry, brewing, trade, and native peoples. If you would like to learn more about the significance of water for Milwaukee, check out these sources ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) or look up one of the many great resources available online.

In recent years, Milwaukee has been included on the New York Time’s  '5 Cities with Great Beaches’  and Conde Nast's 2023 '  Best U.S. Cities to Visit.  ' Just 15 years ago, however, no one wanted to go to Milwaukee's beaches due to their pollution problem. Their restoration is due, in part, to the efforts of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) and its  School of Freshwater Sciences .

Despite its rich history with the rivers and lake, the city and its inhabitants have had to adapt their relationship with the water as Milwaukee has continued to develop and evolve.

To learn more about the history of UWM and Milwaukee's water, continue scrolling. If you would like to skip to a specific part of this story, select the section in the blue bar at the top of your screen. Click on any picture or map to see it's expanded version. Hyperlinks look like  this . The 'Quick Map' tab will bring you to an overview of the locations covered in the tour of UWM's green infrastructure. If you don't recognize that term, keep reading!

Pre-colonization, the area now called Milwaukee was known as “the gathering place by the waters” (Ominowaakiing) and “the good place,” primarily home for Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee peoples. Water flow was largely unmodified and people lived in seasonal, semi-sedentary settlements. Lake Michigan provided fish, such as  sturgeon , and  wild rice , sustaining the people and ecosystems on her shores.

In 1634, the French landed in Green Bay, bringing smallpox - a disease that eventually killed 90% of the Ho-Chunk people - with them. Permanent European settlement began after the American Revolutionary War as indigenous peoples were displaced by violence and false treaties. Colonization had devastating effects for native people and for the watersheds in the area.

One such consequence was the degradation of the river and beaches on Lake Michigan's shores.

Milwaukee was founded in 1846, with its first sewer systems designed to transport waste out of the city and directly into the rivers and lake. No treatment was involved and, as the city grew, water borne pollutants and diseases increased.

As population increased, so did the amount of impervious surfaces that did not allow water through into the soil. Additionally, small waterways were paved over, leaving the water that historically flowed there free flowing.

The rainwater that fell on these large parking lots, streets, and roofs had nowhere to go. The water, now runoff, would flow through streets, picking up speed, chemicals, waste, and other pollutants before eventually joining a larger water body or entering a drain.

Soon, the city built combined sewers, conveying both rainwater and sewage in the same pipe system, to address the water quality problems through treatment. Combined sewers allow stormwater, often carrying contaminants, to be cleansed along with sewage. Treating the stormwater successfully decreased pollution and disease in local rivers and lakes.

Hydrologic systems, similar to the human body's circulatory system, are most healthy when all their small pathways are clear and free flowing. When areas become blocked, streams paved over or arteries clogged, the system slowly deteriorates and can't properly maintain itself. This can lead to health conditions, like heart disease or massive flooding.

Urbanization has continued since Milwaukee's founding, continually increasing the amount of stormwater that the management system has to handle. By the 1970s, the downside to combined sewer systems had made itself known. When faced with a large influx of rain, the sewers can fill up, spilling sewage into the streets. This is just one example of stormwater related problems in urban areas.

Tap through the slideshow below to see examples of storm-water related disasters.

Localized conditions and pollutants carried by stormwater often caused Bradford Beach, a popular swimming destination, to close as the city grew, contaminated by E. Coli. Other beaches throughout the city also closed due to stormwater related problems like chemical build ups and sewage releases.

In recent years, climate change has caused increasingly variable and intense weather patterns. Often, this exacerbates stormwater problems. Conventional stormwater management practices like combined sewers are no longer able to handle the influxes of precipitation.

In response to this challenge, urban planners and landscape architects have begun implementing green infrastructure (GI) as part of stormwater management.

Green infrastructure systems mimic natural processes of water infiltration and retention, detaining stormwater and discharging it at a slower rate. Typically, these practices involve the integration of soil, vegetation, and living ecosystems.

By slowing or stopping the flow of runoff, green infrastructure can help prevent flooding and sewer overflows. The plants and soils involved can also help filter contaminated water, decreasing pollution in larger water bodies. There are many different types of green infrastructure projects, with slightly different purposes.

To better categorize these features, the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s 'Green Values Calculator' sorts green infrastructure improvements into five categories based on function:

• Roof Water Capture
• Roof Water Redirection
• Landscaping
• Directing Runoff
• Permeable Paving.

Founded through the 1956 merger of the Milwaukee Extension Center and the Milwaukee State Teachers College, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM) is located on a small footprint on Milwaukee’s northeast side.

UWM’s identity is rooted in place -  81% of UWM students are Wisconsin residents and 39% of undergraduates are first generation . This staunch commitment to accessibility differentiates it from other R1 research institutions and further cements the role of the university in local communities.

UWM's  School of Freshwater Sciences , located directly on the shore of Lake Michigan, exemplifies this connection to place.

The nation's only school dedicated to freshwater and climate sciences, the school educates the local community as well as UWM students, encouraging learners to create relationships with the water and the land. 

Additionally, students and faculty initiate positive change in the community, often through collaborative projects with community organizations. One such changemaker is  Dr. Sandra McLellan , a professor of Ecosystem Health at the School of Freshwater Science.

The School for Freshwater Sciences is not the only place where UWM is having a positive impact on the local watershed. In 2006,  Dr. Jim Wasley , Director of the Institute for Ecological Design at UWM’s School of Architecture, completed the  UWM as Zero-Discharge Zone: A stormwater masterplan  in interdisciplinary collaboration with students, faculty, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, and UWM Community Design Solutions.

Addressing UWM’s water stewardship responsibility afforded by its water-rich location, this plan consists of two main sections. The first is a physical masterplan for making campus discharge rates only 0.5 cubic square feet/acre for a 100 year flood event - the same as it would be if the land was still forested.

The second section has its own title: the Pavilion Gateway Stormwater Demonstration Project. This project was a redesign of 4 acres of UWM’s campus to meet the standard set above. In doing so, it changed a utilitarian area into a rich landscape that could be used for learning, recreation, and aesthetic purposes.

The drainage from this project makes its way to Parking Lot 18, next to the Heat Plant, one end of which has been constructed into a garden and treatment chain. This spiral garden, approximately 5,000 square of native species and underground bioswale infrastructure, is one of the most impressive green infrastructure features on UWM’s campus. In the midst of summer, the vegetation grows taller than the people walking through the path.

Plans like this one position the university as a leader in developing water research and management in Milwaukee, paving the way for citywide green infrastructure initiatives.

To learn more about the Pavilion Gateway Project, read  this report  or browse  the summary  on the Office of Sustainability’s website.

Though the Master Plan has not been fully implemented, UWM integrates green infrastructure on campus through green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales/bioretention basins, and cisterns.

In total, UWM's green infrastructure features - green roofs, rain gardens, bioswales/bioretention basins, and cisterns - diverted 16.5 million gallons of stormwater during 2021-2022 (learn more  here ). This is enough to fill UWM’s Engelmann Stadium soccer field 12 stories deep with water.

Scroll through the slideshow below to learn more about the green infrastructure strategies at UWM.

As previously mentioned, green roofs are impervious roofs that act as stormwater catchment systems using vegetation, substrate, and drainage pipes. UWM has five green roofs on the main campus and one additional green roof on a dorm in the city.

The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee has 6 green roofs.

Rain gardens and bioswales are a beautiful site on UWM's campus. Filled with wildlife, insects, and native plants, they bring life to parts of campus otherwise barren. Similarly, the water capturing potential of cisterns makes them social hubs as people use that water for gardens and more.

UWM has 6 instances of these infrastructure styles.

Scroll on to learn more about green infrastructure projects across the full UWM campus. Click on the name of each building or project for more details. Together, these important green infrastructure features help divert 16.5 million gallons of stormwater each year, protecting water quality and preventing flooding. To learn more about the specific project, look in either the ' Green Roofs ' section or the ' Rain Gardens & Bioswales ' section.

Note: stats for '% Runoff Diverted,' refer to runoff diverted during a 2-year storm event.

Though UWM has made great strides in green infrastructure implementation, there is always more to be done.

To make a university truly sustainable, sustainability and green infrastructure must become integrated at the institutional level. Instead of seeing sustainability as separate from standard operating, sustainability must become the go-to decision.

The GI on campus can become part of the curriculum, utilizing these features to the fullest of their teaching potential.

Students can become involved in sustainability in a variety of ways. Options include  joining an organization  like Conservation Club,  volunteering with the Office of Sustainability  to help steward the rain gardens, or reaching out to your professors and showing interest in learning about the GI initiatives here on campus.

Green infrastructure is relevant to disciplines that may not seem traditionally ‘environmentalist.’ For example, an economics class can talk about the long-term money saving benefits of green infrastructure plans.

In the coming years, Milwaukee plans to continue integrating green infrastructure, largely thanks to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Their  Regional Green Infrastructure Plan , published in 2013, details the systemic construction of green infrastructure throughout the city.

As of 2024, MMSD is also undertaking a large number of  flood management projects , as well as continuing to inform about and build green infrastructure throughout the city.

They host  rain barrel workshops  where participants receive free rain barrels, learning how to install and care for them. Additionally, their website houses a plethora of information and webinars on  rain gardens , green infrastructure care, soil amendments, and more.

Thank you for reading! Want more information on UWM Sustainability? Email  ask-sustainability@uwm.edu  or fill out  this form .

Interested in seeing some of the gardens? View this  self-guided green infrastructure tour  on your mobile device and get to know UWM's campus better.