Considering River-Scale Ecological Improvements within Flood Management Planning: The Lower Menomonee River Watercourse Status Report

摘要

Between 2000 and 2012, nearly $180M in flood management and ecologicalimprovements will be made in the lower seven miles of the Menomonee River andUnderwood Creek in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa Wisconsin. When complete, theseimprovements will alter areas along at least one bank over nearly 70 percent of the river,resulting in more than 130 acres of riparian land conversion in that highly urban reach.These improvements were and will be undertaken by multiple parties for a variety of landdevelopment, flood management, and ecological restoration purposes.To identify opportunities for providing multiple benefits from planned projects, theMilwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) developed the Lower MenomoneeRiver Watercourse Status Report. This report characterized the existing hydrologic,physical and ecological conditions of the river and its riparian area as it passes through ahighly urbanized corridor. It summarized improvements made in the last seven years andidentified remaining ecological and flood management concerns to be addressed byfuture projects. Additional projects are currently in various states of planning, and thereis interest among various stakeholders to develop these projects in ways that provideadditional environmental benefits beyond their primary flood management objectives.Like many urban rivers, the Menomonee River is highly channelized. The status reportidentified four distinct reaches with varying degrees of channelization, natural substrateand riparian function. Prime opportunities for improvement include removing concretesections that serve as fish barriers and providing additional riparian functionality in themid-reach areas, both of which would help connect relatively high quality habitatupstream with Lake Michigan downstream. Several opportunities to enhance ecologicalfunction were identified associated with ongoing flood management projects and thereport will serve as a basis for guiding additional efforts along the lower MenomoneeRiver.