MILWAUKEE—The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is removing drainage infrastructure implemented a half century ago.

Courtney Allen oversees several projects along Kinnickinnic Watershed.

The senior project manager for MMSD is focused on this area because there are more than eight miles of concrete channels.

“It is the most urbanized watershed in Wisconsin," Allen said. "This means once it rains, it will run off the hard surface into these channels and flows very rabidly through neighborhoods potentially causing flooding and risks of life."

As the concrete channels are removed, it will allow water to move down the river slower.

Allen said that’s where the Wilson Park Creek Reach 3 project comes into play.

“If you could just get a visual picture of 105 Olympic-size swimming pools, that is the equivalent volume that this storage basin will eventually store,” said Allen.

There are also over 600 properties along the Kinnickinnic Watershed that are at risk of flooding.

“It is important to do a project like this to help relieve a flooded structure and improve safety and also these channels have met their useful life and we are not allowed to put concrete back into the river so the intent is to remove the concrete, naturalize this channel,” Allen said.

Allen is happy that construction is going as planned.

He expects the Wilson Park Creek Project to be finished by spring of 2023.

“We will widen and naturalize this one mile stream and this will also help improve with wildlife and habitat restoration,” he said. “We will also increase the capacity of south 5th and south 6th street to allow the flow to move more naturally.”

Allen believes because of climate change, Milwaukee is prone to more severe weather events.

That’s why he wants to do all he can now to protect the city he calls home and its residents from flooding.

The soil from the project will be donated to the city of Oak Creek.