Latest news with #MilwaukeeMetropolitanSewerageDistrict
CNN
9 hours ago
- Climate
- CNN
Flash flooding hits Milwaukee as heavy rain pummels millions across the Midwest
Heavy thunderstorms and gushing rain pummeled parts of the Midwest and Plains over the weekend, triggering flash flooding that caused water rescues and canceled multiple events in the Milwaukee area. So much rain fell in Wisconsin Saturday into Sunday that it could set a new state record. A rain gauge in northwest Milwaukee recorded 14.5 inches of rain over a 24 hour period, according to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. If confirmed by the National Weather Service, it would surpass the previous record of 11.92 inches set in Mellen, a town in northern Wisconsin, in 1946. Milwaukee County declared a state of emergency Sunday as the Milwaukee River crested to a record 11.19 feet, topping the previous high of 10.48 feet set in July 2010. Floodwaters swamped roads, stranded vehicles, and prompted dozens of water rescues. 'It's something that Milwaukee hasn't seen in perhaps a decade or more,' Milwaukee Mayor Chevy Johnson said at a Sunday news conference, noting his own family was affected. The region's beloved Wisconsin State Fair was forced to shut down early on Saturday, canceling a performance by famed rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Organizers canceled its final day Sunday after rains flooded the fairgrounds in West Allis, just outside Milwaukee. USA Triathlon also canceled its Sprint National Championships and Paratriathlon National Championships Sunday in Milwaukee due to flooding and damage on the course, the organization said. The flooding also hit Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, where runways, taxiways and an underpass tunnel were flooded, the weather service said. Rain could return to the Milwaukee area Monday evening, but poses much less of a threat than it did Saturday. Still, any new rain could also renew flooding with waterways still swollen. A flood warning remains in effect for Milwaukee until at least 10 a.m. Monday, as a few streams continue to rise while others slowly return to normal levels, according to the National Weather Service. The flooding rain was part of the same storm system that brought strong winds with gusts over 80 mph to Nebraska Saturday, where one person was killed and another was seriously injured by a large cottonwood tree that toppled onto their vehicle. Hundreds of inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary had to be relocated after storms damaged two housing units, with no injuries reported, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, the Milwaukee Fire Department performed about 65 water rescues, working their way around 'hundreds of vehicles around the city blocking intersections, making progress absolutely impossible,' Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said. A dozen fire departments from neighboring counties assisted with the response to the high number of calls, Lipski said. Brian Baxter, whose two teenage daughters were home alone near the Menomonee River Parkway, described feeling 'helpless' as floodwaters entered the family home as they waited to be rescued, he told CNN affiliate WDJT. The girls, Brailey and Brecken, called their parents in the middle of the night as water rose, sharing with them a video of the flooding. They drove back home but were unable to reach their daughters as floodwaters had covered the neighboring streets. Rescue crews eventually retrieved the girls and their family dog. Heavy rain will shift east into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes through Monday, with lighter showers lingering in Wisconsin and the central Plains. Even with lower totals than Sunday, additional rain could still trigger flooding. Much of the Midwest will turn drier and cooler by midweek before another round of storms develops late in the week. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas and CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar contributed reporting.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flash flooding hits Milwaukee as heavy rain pummels millions across the Midwest
More than 10 million people across the Midwest remain under flood alerts Monday morning as heavy rainfall continues to pummel parts of Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, triggering flash flooding in Milwaukee that has forced the Wisconsin State Fair to cancel its last day. So much rain fell in Wisconsin Saturday into Sunday that it could set a new state record. A rain gauge in northwest Milwaukee recorded 14.5 inches of rain over a 24 hour period, according to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. If confirmed by the National Weather Service, it would surpass the previous record of 11.92 inches set in Mellen, a town in northern Wisconsin, in 1946. Milwaukee County declared a state of emergency Sunday as the Milwaukee River crested to a record 11.19 feet, topping the previous high of 10.48 feet set in July 2010. Floodwaters swamped roads, stranded vehicles, and prompted dozens of water rescues. 'It's something that Milwaukee hasn't seen in perhaps a decade or more,' Milwaukee Mayor Chevy Johnson said at a Sunday news conference, noting his own family was affected. The region's beloved Wisconsin State Fair was forced to shut down early on Saturday, canceling a performance by famed rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Organizers canceled its final day Sunday after rains flooded the fairgrounds in West Allis, just outside Milwaukee. USA Triathlon also canceled its Sprint National Championships and Paratriathlon National Championships Sunday in Milwaukee due to flooding and damage on the course, the organization said. The flooding also hit Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, where runways, taxiways and an underpass tunnel were flooded, the weather service said. A flood warning remains in effect for Milwaukee until at least 10 a.m. Monday, as streams continue to rise, according to the National Weather Service. Much of southern Kansas, part of western Missouri, and part of northern Oklahoma are under a Level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rain through Monday morning, according to the Weather Prediction Center. A Level 2 of 4 risk of flooding rain remains in place for a large swath of the Midwest, including southern Wisconsin, western Illinois, eastern Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, eastern Colorado and northern Oklahoma. The severe weather is part of the same storm system that brought strong winds with gusts over 80 mph to Nebraska Saturday, where one person was killed and another was seriously injured by a large cottonwood tree that toppled onto their vehicle. Hundreds of inmates at the Nebraska State Penitentiary had to be relocated after storms damaged two housing units, with no injuries reported, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, the Milwaukee Fire Department performed about 65 water rescues, working their way around 'hundreds of vehicles around the city blocking intersections, making progress absolutely impossible,' Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said. A dozen fire departments from neighboring counties assisted with the response to the high number of calls, Lipski said. Brian Baxter, whose two teenage daughters were home alone near the Menomonee River Parkway, described feeling 'helpless' as floodwaters entered the family home as they waited to be rescued, he told CNN affiliate WDJT. The girls, Brailey and Brecken, called their parents in the middle of the night as water rose, sharing with them a video of the flooding. They drove back home but were unable to reach their daughters as floodwaters had covered the neighboring streets. Rescue crews eventually retrieved the girls and their family dog. Heavy rain will shift east into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes through Monday, with lighter showers lingering in Wisconsin and the central Plains. Even with lower totals than Sunday, additional rain could still trigger flooding. Much of the Midwest will turn drier and cooler by midweek before another round of storms develops late in the week. This story has been updated with additional information. CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas and Allison Chinchar contributed reporting
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sewage accidentally released into Lincoln Creek, nearly 10K gallons
The Brief MMSD said nearly 10,000 gallons of sewage was released into Lincoln Creek. Contractors dumped sanitary sewage from a vacuum truck into a storm sewer, mistaking it for a sanitary sewer. The sewage entered Lincoln Creek near 32nd and Hampton in Milwaukee. MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District on Friday said a contractor accidentally released nearly 10,000 gallons of sewage into Lincoln Creek earlier this week. What they're saying It happened on Tuesday, March 11. According to MMSD, workers with Veolia Water Milwaukee dumped sanitary sewage from a vacuum truck into a storm sewer, mistaking it for a sanitary sewer. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android As a result, the sewage entered Lincoln Creek near 32nd and Hampton. MMSD reported the incident to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. On Wednesday, MMSD said Veolia crews plugged and cleaned the impacted storm sewer before reopening it for normal operation. Veolia also implemented a mandatory supervisor approval process and scheduled refresher training for its field crews, which will start next week. MMSD is a regional government agency that handles water reclamation, tasked with capturing and cleaning wastewater, for 29 communities in the Greater Milwaukee area that cover 423 square miles. What's next MMSD said it will continue working with Veolia to determine why the mistake happened. The Source Information in this report is from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ice breakers, barges and cranes: What's happening in Lake Michigan off Jones Island?
Between ice breaking tug boats, massive cranes and large barges, there's a lot happening off Jones Island in Lake Michigan this winter. Head south on the Hoan Bridge towards Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood and you'll see perhaps the most striking activity, with barges floating 950 steel pipe piles — each measuring 85-feet-long — out into the lake, where they are placed by cranes. Eventually, the walls will create a waterproof border around a site the equivalent size of 13 football fields filled 50 feet deep. It's more than a construction site, though. "It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have a cleaner waterway," said Bridget Henk, a senior project manager with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The site will become Milwaukee's new dredged materials management facility, and it will hold millions of cubic yards of polluted sediment removed from the city's waterways. Here's what to know about the project and what work Milwaukeeans will continue to see off Jones Island. More: River revival: Milwaukee's long-neglected Kinnickinnic River is on the verge of a revival The Milwaukee estuary is one of dozens of "areas of concern" in the Great Lakes, a designation given the most polluted sites in the region. Milwaukee's site consists of 12 total miles of waterway that includes the lower reaches of the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers, as well as nearshore areas of Lake Michigan. Legacy industrial pollution is largely to blame for the impairments in the Milwaukee estuary, specifically from PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are a class of hundreds of chemicals banned by the federal government in 1979 because they are hazardous to humans, fish and wildlife. The only way to get rid of these cancer-causing pollutants is to physically remove and store them permanently in a safe facility. Along with getting rid of contaminated sediment, habitat restoration projects are also underway, like a fish passage built around the Kletzsch Park dam and a project to rehabilitate and move Bay View's South Shore beach. The federal government, through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, provides much of the funding for the area of concern cleanup effort, along with $450 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Michels Corporation started construction of the new facility last winter. It will have a dual wall structure with a 50-foot space between that is filled with sand and rocks, similar to gravel material seen on roads. There will also be a two-and-a-half foot wide impermeable barrier so water and pollutants cannot pass through. That is what keeps the polluted sediment contained, Henk said. The project is on schedule and the new facility should be operational by early 2027 at the latest, according to Henk. The outer wall is mostly done. Now, the inner wall is being placed into the lake. The steel piles are so heavy they actually vibrate in place, Henk said, which is why the construction work is not noisy. In the coming months, Milwaukeeans also will see tub trucks bringing in sand that will go in between the dual walls. The impermeable wall will be put this summer, Henk said. Project partners on the facility include the Port of Milwaukee and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and We Energies. Some of the polluted sediment is associated with the operation of the former Third Ward Manufactured Gas Plant, operated by one of We Energies' corporate predecessors. The new storage space will be located next to an existing sediment storage facility on Jones Island that is nearly full. The new facility will be 42 acres and will hold roughly 1.9 million cubic yards of polluted sediment. According to Henk, it was designed with preventive measures to make sure pollutants do not seep into Lake Michigan. There also will be ongoing monitoring by the Port of Milwaukee and other project partners to make sure leaks are prevented. Over time the sediment sinks and becomes compact. Then, the 42-acre site will be capped and become city property managed under the public trust doctrine to be preserved for public use. The Lake Express terminal also was built on a similar site storing dredged material. It could take 40 to 50 years before this can happen, according to the sewerage district. The city and sewerage district are also in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit against Monsanto, the chemical manufacturer now owned by the German company Bayer. Monsanto is more commonly known as the manufacturer that created the weedkiller Roundup, which has faced thousands of lawsuits as well. The city and sewerage district allege that Monsanto promoted and sold PCBs throughout the 1950s to 1970s while concealing the health risks. It's one of several lawsuits across the country that have been filed against Monsanto, now Bayer, relating specifically to PCBs. There are three other areas of concern in Wisconsin: the bay of Green Bay and Lower Fox River that flows into Lake Michigan; the Sheboygan River that also flows into Lake Michigan; and the St. Louis River that flows into Lake Superior. The EPA delisted a fifth area of concern, the Lower Menominee River, in 2020. The Lower Fox River and the bay of Green Bay faced similar legacy PCB-contamination from wastewater discharged from paper mills along the river. The $1.3 million cleanup effort is considered the world's largest PCB cleanup effort, removing 6.5 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment − nearly 3.5 times more than Milwaukee's cleanup effort. After decades of dredging, Gov. Tony Evers announced the end to the cleanup effort in 2020. A recent report by the EPA and Wisconsin DNR showed that the river is improving, but it will be upwards of three decades before fish consumption advisories for PCBs are removed. More: Five years after the world's largest PCB cleanup ended, how's the Lower Fox River doing? Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@ follow her on X @caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Construction of Jones Island, Lake Michigan sediment facility underway
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
From cleanup to science to research, federal funding freeze raises Great Lakes concerns
The health of the Great Lakes, a vital resource and historical treasure for millions, faces an uncertain future as President Donald Trump's temporary freeze on grants and loans takes effect. The sweeping move by the Trump administration has cast uncertainty over funding long considered essential for protecting the basin, monitoring its health and preserving its maritime heritage through marine and shipwreck sanctuaries. And while Congressional Democrats challenge the order's legality, scientists, agencies and environmental groups are left to wait and see what happens next. Here's what we know so far about what the federal funding freeze means for the Great Lakes region and Milwaukee. More:Trump orders temporary freeze on federal grants. Here's how that could affect Wisconsin Great Lakes, Milwaukee cleanup efforts Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District communications manager Bill Graffin expressed concern about how the pause would impact the "area of concern" cleanup effort in Milwaukee. The "areas of concern" are the most polluted and damaged sites across the basin, largely due to legacy contamination from industry and habitat degradation. Funding for the massive cleanup effort is through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which has provided targeted funding towards restoring the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes basin, like Milwaukee. The city has greatly benefited from the program; it recently received $450 million in federal grants from the program. Projects include dredging contaminated sediment at the bottom of Milwaukee's three rivers and Lake Michigan; building a new facility that will hold the contaminated sediment; and restoring fish habitat and beaches, like at Bay View's South Shore Park. Much of the funding for the area of concern cleanup is targeted towards environmental justice efforts as pollution and climate change disproportionately impact communities that face racial and economic marginalization in Milwaukee. Targeted funding towards these efforts may be up in the air as the Trump administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion in federal programs and agencies. While the move has been couched as a temporary pause, Don Jodrey, the director of federal relations at the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said that if it does become permanent there would be negative consequences throughout the Great Lakes and in Milwaukee. 'Citizens of Milwaukee can identify how important the area of concern cleanup effort is, and it won't go forward without federal funding,' Jodrey said. More:Great Lakes, PFAS, lead pipes: How Trump's policies could impact Wisconsin's environment Great Lakes research, shipwrecks, marine sanctuaries Federal funding helps keep science moving throughout the eight Great Lakes states. Rebecca Klaper, dean of UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, expressed concern over delays in receiving federal funds to support research, staff and small business grants through the School. Federal selection committees and panels to select future grant recipients were canceled this week, Klaper said. Federal funding is really important for the science and technology workforce. 'We are crossing our fingers,' Klaper said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, is a federal agency that plays a big role in research and monitoring in the Great Lakes. The agency also funds projects to help coastal communities build resilience and manage flooding, as climate change brings wetter weather and greater swings in lake levels in Wisconsin. NOAA also helps protect the basin's history and ecosystems through its national marine sanctuaries, like the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Michigan and the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron. Scott Smullen, deputy director of NOAA communications, said in an emailed statement that NOAA cannot speculate on future actions or potential changes at this time, but the agency 'remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation's environmental and economic resilience.' Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her atclooby@ follow her on X@caitlooby and learn more about how she approaches her reporting. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
