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Waterway Restoration Partnership

Waterway Restoration Partnership

Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern

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Projects

Learn about the different phases of restoration projects.

The projects fall into three categories:

  • Cleaned-up Waterways
  • Restored Ecosystems
  • Swimmable Beaches

Find the current status of each project below. You can find out more about each project on our project map.

Cleaned-up Waterways

Restored Ecosystems

  • Burnham Canal Wetland Restoration – Phase II
  • Kohl Park Wildlife Enhancements
  • North Avenue Fish Passage

Swimmable Beaches

  • Bradford Beach – Nourishment and Rain Garden Enhancement
  • McKinley Beach – Bird Deterrence

Cleaned-up Waterways

  • Milwaukee River Floodplains Cleanup
  • Greater Milwaukee Estuary Sediment Cleanup

Restored Ecosystems

  • Grand Trunk Wetland Restoration
  • Havenwoods State Forest
  • Lincoln Park Oxbow Habitat Enhancements
  • Little Menomonee River Parkway Habitat Enhancements
  • Milwaukee River Greenway
  • Outer Harbor Aquatic Enhancements (Summerfest Lagoon)

Swimmable Beaches

Cleaned Up Waterways

  • Dredged Material Management Facility

Restored Ecosystems

  • Estabrook Falls Fish Passage
  • Little Menomonee River Parkway Habitat Enhancements

Swimmable Beaches

  • South Shore Beach Rehabilitation

Cleaned-up Waterways

  • Basin H PCB Source Control
  • Third Ward Cleanup 
  • Solvay Car Ferry Slip Cleanup
  • South Marina Drive Sewer PCB Cleanout

Restored Ecosystems

  • Burnham Canal Wetland Restoration  – Phase I
  • Kletzsch Dam Fish Passage

Swimmable Beaches

 

For more detail and project timeline estimates download our full project process timeline.

Project Map

Third Ward Milwaukee River Cleanup

April 2023 Project Update: Have you seen things popping up along the Milwaukee River downtown? After years of planning, permitting and outreach, We Energies, along …

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Solvay Car Ferry Slip

Solvay Car Ferry Slip We Energies is partnering with local, state and federal agencies to clean up portions of the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern. …

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Burnham Canal Wetland Restoration

For thousands of years, the 1200-acre Menomonee River Valley was a wild rice marsh, home to Native Americans. By the mid-1800s, the settlement of Milwaukee …

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Kletzsch Park Wildlife Enhancements

Kletzsch Park is a very popular recreational spot, whether it be enjoying the Oak Leaf Trail, watching the waterfall or having a picnic! However, the …

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Basin H Sewers PCB Cleanup

The Basin H work is underway! Watch the October 2022 Basin H video update to see how this work will impact you. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District …

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Restored Ecosystems

Activities such as filling in wetlands, clear cutting forests, and polluting the waterways with sewage and toxic industrial chemicals have harmed fish and wildlife and …

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Menomonee River Parkway Sections 5 & 6

Within Milwaukee County is the 597-acre Menomonee River Parkway, and this parkway contains two sections chosen as an Area of Concern project – Sections 5 …

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Eutrophication

The Milwaukee Estuary AOC has historically experienced algal blooms and oxygen depletion due to high levels of nutrients entering the waterways from various sources including …

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South Marina Drive PCB Cleanup

South Marina Drive PCB Cleanup The City completed a sediment assessment at 1950 South Marina Drive in the Grand Trunk Slip (aka Skipper Buds Slip) …

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Lincoln Park Oxbow Habitat Enhancements

Plan, design, and eventually, when additional funding is identified, implement improvements to fish habitat and migration at the Lincoln Park Oxbow. Partner Lead: Milwaukee Metropolitan …

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North Avenue Fish Passage

North Avenue Fish Passage Fish and other aquatic species need to be able to swim upriver to access food sources, reproduce, and establish healthy, stable …

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Little Menomonee River Parkway

Wild & Wonderful Little Menomonee River Parkway Event Join us on Saturday May 17th from 12:00 – 2:00 PM at Dretzka Park Chalet (12020 W …

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Estabrook Falls Fish Passage

Join us for Office Hours + Guided Walks at Estabrook Park Beer Garden! Thursday, June 5 from 5–7 PM Sunday, June 8 from 11 AM–1 …

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South Shore Beach Rehabilitation Project

August 2024 Project Update:The South Shore Beach Rehabilitation Project is now out to bid! Contractor’s, visit the link to submit. After over a decade of …

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Cleaning Our Waterways – Sediment Removal

Great Lakes Legacy Act Contaminated Sediment Project Sediment Removal Overview: Over 12 miles of the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic rivers will be cleaned up to …

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Milwaukee River Floodplains

  Recent soil samples from the Milwaukee River floodplains indicate the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals such as …

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Milwaukee River Greenway

Restoring unique habitat and enhancing diversity along one of Milwaukee’s most vital ecological and recreational corridors. The landscape that surrounds the Milwaukee River, known as …

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Kohl Park Wildlife Enhancements

Kohl Park is a 266-acre property located on the far northern edge of Milwaukee County that provides an opportunity to improve habitat for wildlife populations …

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South Shore Beach

Swimmable Beaches

Public health officials use beach advisories and closings to let people know when the water may be unsafe for swimming and in-water recreation. The beaches …

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Havenwoods State Forest

Havenwoods State Forest Habitat Restoration Design Feb. 2025 Update  This project aims to improve native habitats and expand wetlands through large-scale habitat restoration. Returning the …

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Grand Trunk Cleanup & Wetland Restoration

Grand Trunk Cleanup & Wetland Restoration The Grand Trunk wetland is situated on City of Milwaukee property, between E. Stewart Street and E. Bay Street. …

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Summerfest Lagoon

Outer Harbor (Summerfest Lagoon) EPA GLNPO is partnering with local and state agencies to clean up contaminated sediment and restore habitat within the Summerfest Lagoon …

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Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF)

Project Update October 2024: The Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF) construction is continuing. Approximately 400 of the 950 circular piles have been installed along the …

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County Ground Wildlife Enhancements

Under one collective project, County Grounds Park, Menomonee River Parkway (MNR) Section 9, and Hoyt Park make up the “County Grounds Project”, totaling 185+/- acres, …

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