Client:
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Location:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Year:
2009
Award: The Wisconsin Association for Floodplain, Stormwater, and Coastal Management (WAFSCM) recently awarded SEH and MMSD a 2010 Excellence in Project Design or Implementation Award. This award provides recognition of meritorious project efforts to improve floodplain, stormwater, or coastal management in Wisconsin.
Underwood Creek is a major tributary of the Menomonee River that was altered during the 1960s through channel widening and realignment and installation of concrete lining and drop structures. In 2002, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) completed the Menomonee River Phase 2 Watercourse Management Plan (WMP), which developed preliminary engineering designs associated with recommended flood management facilities located throughout the watershed. It was determined that peak discharges in Underwood Creek contributed to flooding downstream along the Menomonee River. As a result, the Phase 2 WMP included the development of the Milwaukee County Grounds (MCG) Floodwater Management Facility, which will result in the construction of an approximately 950-acre foot storage facility on MCG property that will receive and detain excess floodwaters from nearby Underwood Creek.
In June 2007, SEH was selected by MMSD to complete final design and construction documents, and provide services during construction, for the Phase I watercourse rehabilitation project, which addresses 2,200 feet of Underwood Creek watercourse. The Phase I project includes removal of the existing concrete channel lining and construction of approximately 2,400 feet of meandering, stone lined channel, with bio-engineered components and riffle/pools sequences that provide enhanced fisheries habitat. Also included is the lowering and rehabilitation of the adjoining seven acre floodplain through the installation of native wetland plants and the development of wildlife habitat.
Features
- Eliminates concrete drop structures
- Incorporates main channel meanders and associated riffles and pools
- Replaces portions of the concrete channel lining with bio-engineered cross-sections
- Provides a more naturally functioning floodplain that would experience relatively frequent inundation and allows the creation of adjoining wetland areas and habitat
