| Saving for a Rainy Day |
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Every time rain sweeps into Milwaukee, Kevin Shafer keeps one eye on the forecast. An inch, two inches, over a couple of days—ok. But if the rain falls fast and furious, Shafer knows he may have a problem. And so do his peers in Portland. And Nashville. And Houston.
Shafer has it better than most. He heads the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, which provides wastewater and flood management services to 1.1 million customers in 28 communities. Under Shafer's 13-year tenure, the region has invested in a massive labyrinth of deep tunnels to hold overflowing sewer water during storms, so homes stay dry and water quality remains high. Nearly 30 miles of tunnels, some 32 feet around, can hold 521 million gallons of wastewater for treatment after a storm has subsided.
Still, it’s not enough.
As Milwaukee’s population grows—with more houses, pavement and concrete packed into its limits—even this outsized investment in grey infrastructure is not enough to completely prevent the sewers from soaring when the rain pours down. So Shafer is again out in front, experimenting with an emerging new kind of infrastructure: green.
In addition to deep tunnels, Milwaukee now confronts storms with green strategies. Its Greenseams program, run by The Conservation Fund, has bought and restored more than 2,100 acres of floodplains to reduce flooding and storm water flows. In addition, the city has expanded rain gardens, rain barrels, porous pavement that absorbs water, green roofs and bioswales, or green valleys that dress street medians and soak up rainwater.
Shafer shared these strategies at GIC ’11, our inaugural National Green Infrastructure Conference. At this groundbreaking event, 270 policymakers and practitioners—representing over 35 states and 4 countries—gathered to share the best of green infrastructure, compare challenges and set the stage for future planning. The Conservation Fund hosted GIC ’11 in partnership with the US Department of Defense, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish & Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Federal Highway Administration, National Park Service/Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, American Planning Association, National Association of Clean Water Agencies and the Clean Water America Alliance.
Altogether, green infrastructure represents roughly 10% of Shafer’s water management budget—a small but growing percentage. And today, the region has gone from experiencing roughly 50 “overflows” of wastewater a year to just two.
Milwaukee is a model for what we can accomplish by preserving and restoring natural places in our urban infrastructure. Similar work is underway in Portland and dozens of other cities, as planners realize that “grey” engineering has taken us as far as it can. As Mike Rosen, a water manager in Portland, told the audience at GIC '11: “We can’t build another, bigger pipe. We have got to have new solutions. Green infrastructure is it.”
At The Conservation Fund, a hallmark of our work is our deep, unwavering understanding that for conservation to last, it must make economic sense. As a leader in green infrastructure, we're bringing environmental and economic goals together. We can make sure that vibrant communities stay that way—rain or shine.
Photos: Greenseams land/Photo: Nick Bristol (banner); Galoshes in flood water/Uygar Ozel, iStockphoto.com (top).
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