Flood Cleanup in Milwaukee, WI

Flood cleanup in Milwaukee is shaped by the convergence of Lake Michigan's storm surge potential, the city's three urban rivers, and one of the Midwest's most problematic combined sewer systems. Lake Michigan storm surges from northeast wind events can raise shoreline water levels by several feet and send wave action into lakefront streets and properties from South Shore Park through the East Side and into Shorewood — a phenomenon that occurs several times per year and is expected to increase as Lake Michigan water levels rise. The Kinnickinnic River's 2010 flooding event — triggered by a 7-inch rainfall in 24 hours — inundated hundreds of Bay View and south side homes and businesses with water exceeding 6 feet in the lowest reaches near the river's mouth at the Milwaukee River. River restoration and flood wall construction projects along the Kinnickinnic have improved the situation, but the completed first phase only addresses a portion of the flood risk. Milwaukee's sewer system — heavily combined in the older city — contributes Category 3 contaminated water to virtually every significant flooding event in the urban core, elevating cleanup requirements above what the clean-water appearance of floodwater might suggest.