Winter 2012 Rivers Report Now On-line!

Follow the link for the Winter 2012 issue.  Articles in this issue include:

• Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference
• UWM School of Freshwater Sciences
• AOC Inaugural Meeting
• 1st Round of Mini-Grant Awards
• Senior Water Advocates Network
• Trash in Lake Michigan
• Stormwater Tips for Winter
• Watershed Action Team Updates
• Upcoming Events

Visit our Stormwater Outreach Campaign website:

Sweet Water is the proud recipient of the Public Policy Forum "Salute to Local Government" Private-Public Cooperation Award

 and

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

Public Policy Forum analysis of our recent public opinion survey:

Fracking and Lunch

Thursday, February 9, 11:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Perhaps an odd combination, but not for water lovers who want to learn about fracking for natural gas while enjoying a great lunch at Buca di Beppo! Brought to you by Milwaukee Riverkeeper's Senior Water Advocates Network - SWAN. All ages are welcome.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Buca di Beppo

1233 N Van Buren St , Milwaukee

(map)

Easy parking next to restaurant. Vegetarian option offered.

Schedule:

11:00 a.m.  Introduction and viewing of the Gasland documentary

12:30 p.m.  Lunch

1:15 p.m. View remaining portion of the Gasland documentary

1:45 p.m. Brief discussion of sand mining in Wisconsin

Cost: $15.00/$13.00 for Milwaukee Riverkeeper members.

(read full article)

Photo courtesy Discovery World

Greener Yards, Cleaner Waters Workshops

The Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network, in partnership with UW-Extension, is offering five "Greener Yards, Cleaner Waters" workshops in 2012.

Each workshop will feature a classroom presentation on the causes of polluted stormwater runoff, and on rain gardens, rain barrels, composting, tree and shrub landscaping, and other yard care practices to reduce polluted runoff to our streams, river, and Lake Michigan.

Some of the workshops also include a tour of one or more rain garden. A rain barrel will be given away at each workshop in a free drawing. Free oak saplings will be available to workshop attendees.

(read full article)

Concerned about Groundwater?

Come to the WI Soil and Water Conservation Society's annual conference February 9th at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Stevens Point.  Strong roster of presentations.

The focus of this year’s conference is understanding and protecting Wisconsin’s groundwater.  For registration materials, follow this link.  For information about the conference agenda, follow this link.

Photo courtesy University Communications

UW-Madison

Pet Waste Pick-up - Menomonee Falls

River Trail Restoration - Menomonee Valley Partners

Rain Barrel Street Art - Whitefish Bay

Water Quality Mini-Grant Update

2011 was a good year for the Water Quality Mini-Grant Program. Over $52,000 will be awarded to local, grassroots efforts through the generous support of the Fund for Lake Michigan, MMSD, WI Energy Foundation, and CH2M HILL. 

The 1st round of grant recipients includes:

• 16th Street Community Health Center – Peoples Park with Stormwater BMPs
• Groundwork Milwaukee – Kinnickinnic Neighborhood BMP Project
• Holler Park Neighborhood Association – Rain Gardens and Trail Improvement Project
• Milwaukee Riverkeeper – Human Bacteria Sample Testing
• Milwaukee Riverkeeper – Lilly Creek Stabilization Project
• Milwaukee Riverkeeper – Illicit Discharge Detection Using Sewer Sniffing Dogs
• Holler Park Neighborhood Association – Garden District Neighborhood Rain Garden Match Program
• Friends of Hart Park – Stream Bank Restoration

The 2nd round of awards will be announced at the Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference on April 30.

Is the 8th Annual Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference on your calendars?

The 8th Annual Clean Rivers, Clean Lake Conference will be held April 30 at Discovery World located at 500 N. Harbor Drive in Milwaukee.

The conference is a full day event with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. and program at 8:00 a.m.  The conference ends at 7:00 p.m.

Registration for the conference is $60 in advance or $75 at the door.  The program is being finalized and will be posted available.

For information about registration and exhibit opportunities, contact Tina Kroening at

kroening@swwtwater.org

or at

(414) 382-1766.

Discovery World, site of 8th Annual Conference

At the shore of Lake Michigan, Bradford Beach

New Year Wishes to Friends and Colleagues!

We have many successes to celebrate at the end of 2011. The year began with the publishing of the results of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin public survey regarding the public's understanding of our water resources that guides our outreach efforts.

Through the support of programs such as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Sustain Our Great Lakes, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, and the Fund for Lake Michigan, new water quality projects are being implemented throughout the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds.

(read full article)

NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Funding Opportunity

NOAA's Restoration Center announces a federal funding opportunity (FFO) for habitat restoration in U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

The FFO is available at www.grants.gov, funding number NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2012-2003232. The closing date is

February 16, 2012.

Through this solicitation, NOAA seeks to openly compete funding available for habitat restoration in the U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern with funds provided by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

(read full article)

Photo by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant Program

The Five Star Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration. The National Association of Counties, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Southern Company, and FedEx, are pleased to solicit applications for Five Star.

Deadline: February 15, 2012
Amount: $10,000 to $40,000
A minimum 1:1 match of cash or in-kind or contributed goods and services to funds requested is expected.

(read full article)

EPA Requests Proposals for Urban Waters Small Grants

• Webinar about this funding opportunity was held January 5, 2012
• Deadline for submitting questions: January 16, 2012

• Deadline for submitting proposals: January 23, 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expects to award between $1.8 to $3.8 million in funding for projects across the country to help restore urban waters by improving water quality and supporting community revitalization.

(read full article)

Hot Off the Presses!

The new issue of the RiversReport is now posted

here. 

Would you like to have it delivered to your email inbox? Fill out the form on the sidebar and join our mailing list for additional up-to-date alerts and news.

EPA Announces Award to MMSD, Sweet Water, and Menomonee River Municipalities

Over 35 people attended a formal announcement August 31 at Hart Park of a $100,000 grant from the EPA to the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and its partners. The effort’s goal is to develop, through a cooperative partnership of up to twenty governmental units in the Menomonee River watershed, a single, collaborative stormwater permit framework. The approach offers tremendous potential to cost-effectively improve water quality. This pilot is one of three in the country.

The event featured remarks by Susan Hedman, Administrator for EPA Region 5, Cathy Stepp, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Anthony S. Earl, Joyce Foundation Board Member and former Wisconsin Governor and WDNR Secretary, and Kevin Shafer, Executive Director of the MMSD. 

A number of elected officials from Menomonee Watershed communities also attended, including City of Wauwatosa Mayor Jill Didier who welcomed the attendess.  For more information, see the press release linked here.

Tom Grisa presenting opening remarks to attendees

Speaking at the event: (from left) Anthony Earl, former governor and Joyce Foundation Board Member; Cathy Stepp, WDNR Secretary; Jill Didier, Mayor of Wauwatosa; Susan Hedman, EPA Administrator for Region 5; Kevin Shafer, Executive Director MMSD; Tom Grisa, Public Works Director and Sweet Water Board Member

Sweet Water Stormwater Education Campaign – The Real Water Park

Sweet Water has developed a public information and outreach campaign, The Real Water Park, to encourage residents to do their part to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff. The campaign will:

• educate residents on the actions they can take to reduce pollutants and stormwater runoff
• communicate the benefits of clean waterways for our families, neighborhoods, and the whole watershed district
• ask residents to "take the pledge" to save The Real Water Park at www.RealWaterPark.com
• encourage those already taking steps to do even more, such as install rain barrels or rain gardens
• encourage those who do not currently take these simple steps to begin doing so

Visit the campaign website, www.realwaterpark.com. Friend us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/realwaterpark. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/realwaterpark.

(read full article)

Survey Shows Area Residents Concerned About the Future of River and Lakes

See, Hear, Read Related Sweet Water News in Press Room

Sweet Water announced the results of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin’s survey of public opinion and knowledge concerning water resources. The survey found that while the public considers the water quality of our rivers and Lake Michigan to be satisfactory or better at this time, they also believe water quality in surface waters and groundwater will become a bigger problem in the coming decade.

According to the survey, the public believes the major sources of water pollution are sewer overflows and industrial wastes, even though the vast majority of water pollution today comes from nonpoint sources such as urban and rural runoff. Both sewer overflows and point sources of pollution have been dramatically reduced in recent decades, with overflows dropping to a fraction of pre-1994 levels.

(read full article )

Sweet Water accepted an award given by the Public Policy Forum at its Salute to Local Government event on June 17, recognizing the development of Watershed Restoration Plans in the Private-Public Cooperation category.

The Public Policy Forum believes that local governments deserve recognition for their achievements. Constituents can be frustrated, the media critical, and the public at large bewildered or indifferent. Yet there are many examples of strong government performance throughout our region, and of local government workers who excel. The awards event was held to highlight these examples.

(read full article)

Couldn’t join us at the award event? Jeff’s ‘thank you’ remarks.