6th Street: Un-paving the path to Green

August 24, 2011 | Clean Water, Floods & Floodplains, Greening Water Infrastructure, Most Endangered Rivers, Stormwater & Sewage

Sean Foltz
Associate Director, Clean Water Program

Here's a blog written by our intern Mike Jozwik, Milwaukee, WI:

A seemingly unlikely candidate is stepping forward with the hopes of inspiring innovation and setting a precedent for “natural” storm water management in the city of Milwaukee, WI. Milwaukee is looking to construct one of the first “green corridors” in the state of Wisconsin. 

In looking to go green, being able to physically experience or touch a finished product seems to be the main deterrent to action in light of large-scale global environmental issues.

In these times of economic hardships, green infrastructure affords the opportunity for a decisive and cost effective means to help ease an already over-burdened storm water infrastructure system.

It also provides a unique opportunity to involve students and local neighborhoods in an educational venture exemplifying technological and practical innovations that can be easily accomplished in their own backyards.

There are many practices that can be implemented, with prices ranging per square foot. The easiest installed practices for mitigating storm water runoff are rain gardens, rain barrels, and bioswales [PDF] (man-made depressions with plantings that consolidate rain water off of impervious pavements).

More technical and advanced practices include porous pavement, green roofs, and water harvesters. By implementing green infrastructure, it is estimated that a ten-acre business parcel could save $15,240 in storm water charges over the course of one year. 

The 6th Street Green Corridor is looking to implement most of these practices, with Simon Landscaping spearheading the project with a state of the art green roof system. This initial development will serve as an educational icon for the project.

With the official designation of South 6th Street as Milwaukee’s Green Corridor, paths are beginning to be unpaved, so to speak, in the hopes of transitioning a heavily industrialized area of Milwaukee into a progressive sustainable model for other districts. 

Change does not come easy, or fast. However, it does take leadership, determination, and cooperation on multiple scales of governance to create tangible results within our neighborhoods, cities, and state. 

Through the efforts of the Energy Exchange, American Rivers, Milwaukee Public Works, The Gateway to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Municipal Sewage District; the Green Corridor has been established to be a tool for education, a model of sustainable development, and a simple yet effective means to approach the problem of storm water flooding in the metro Milwaukee area.

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