Since 2010, Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust (a.k.a. Sweet Water)—a Milwaukee-based organization committed to protecting freshwater from Lake Michigan, as well as streams and rivers throughout Southeastern Wisconsin—has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants to fund 100 local projects for non-profit groups and community organizations. Formed in 2009 by local groups, including the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), Sweet Water focuses on helping eliminate “non-point source pollution,” said Dave Libert, Sweet Water’s interim executive director.
Many initiatives focus on using technology and science to help minimize water pollution. “We’re looking to support groups to make an impact on the ground,” said Libert. He added that the organization awards 10 to 15 mini-grants from $1,000 to $5,000 each year.
Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church in Milwaukee’s Washington Heights neighborhood is a recent recipient of these funds. With a $4,520 grant, the church was able to add three “StormGUARDen” systems that combine aspects of a rain barrel and rain garden to create an environment-friendly way to manage storm water. Rainwater from rooftops flows through a downspout into troughs and spills over into planting containers where soil filters and plants absorb the contaminants. Excess water from the planting containers overflows to the bottom water reservoir where water is released into the ground.
StormGUARDen holds as much water as 6 1/2 rain barrels, noted Carrie Bristoll-Groll, principal civil engineer and owner of Stormwater Solutions Engineering and holder of the patent for the product. These systems provide several ecological benefits for gardens, including a reduction in water overflow and bacteria and other pollutants found on rooftops and the ability to grow fruits and vegetables in the trough.
Building ‘A Community Connection’
A storm water engineer for 25 years, Bristol-Groll is used to working on large-scale projects around the city, such as water management for ponds. She added that the City of Milwaukee has a mandate in place for disconnecting downspouts by the year 2025. StormGUARDen was developed to ensure people have water when the mandate goes into effect. She added that many people in the community came to watch and help with the installation of the three StormGUARDen systems. “The church is hoping to use this as an outreach; there’s a community connection, growing fruits and veggies,” she said.
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Milwaukee non-profit organization ReFlo is reaching out to young people by using cell phone technology to promote the importance of water conservation and sustainability around the city. With a $5,000 grant the organization received from Sweet Water in 2016, ReFlo created Water Story MKE, a free iPhone app that helps educate users about the importance of hidden water sites throughout Milwaukee. The app connects to six pilot sites, including Cream City Farms at Walnut Hill, the Brewery neighborhood and the Lakefront Pumphouse. Users can learn the history of these sites, play trivia games and more.
At first glance, many of these sites don’t appear to be important water management areas. But Water Story MKE helps reveal the sites’ not-so-obvious histories. “The app is sort of a portal into this other story. We basically coupled the design between water history and how people are doing green infrastructure at these sites today,” said Michael Timm, app developer and manager of the Milwaukee Water Stories program for ReFlo.
Getting the Word Out
Volunteer organization Common Ground uses text blasts to inform the public when to limit or stop water use—not showering, washing dishes or doing laundry during heavy rainfalls, for example. “If people use these alerts, we can reduce the amount of overflow,” said Common Ground organizer Larry Krolikowski. Conserving water during storms creates less lake pollution. Milwaukee’s deep tunnel, an underground pipe 30 feet in diameter build in the 1990s to handle sewer overflows, occasionally fills up during heavy rainfalls. “When this happens, MMSD has no choice but to release sewage into the lake,” said Krolikowski. People can subscribe to these alerts by texting the word “Waterdrop” to 797979.
According to Krolikowski, several criteria determine whether or not a blast is sent out, including how localized the rain is and how heavy it’s falling. Originally, text alerts were used by area meteorologists, including CBS-58’s Drew Burgoyne and Channel 12’s Mark Baden. Although the text alert information was broadcast on news stations, “we weren’t getting the younger people, so we turned to social media,” said Krolikowski.
A $3,200 grant awarded by Sweet Water enabled Common Ground to hire Ricardo Jaimes, a graduate student enrolled in UW-Milwaukee’s Freshwater Sciences program, as a social media intern. “The mini-grant was to help us get the word out,” said Krolikowski. “This year, we’ve tripled the number of subscribers (to the text alerts).” Nonprofits and neighborhood groups can apply for mini-grants starting in September. Applications are reviewed in January and February, and awards are given out in April.
For more information on Sweet Water mini-grants, visit swwtwater.org.
