More than a million people live and work in the Milwaukee metro area; many in flood prone neighborhoods. For the past seven years, we’ve helped the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District fight flooding by managing “Greenseams,” a program that has protected over 2,000 acres of key lands containing water-absorbent (hydric) soils.

Greenseams reaches over 2,000 acres!

In December 2009, Greenseams reached a major milestone: the program surpassed 2,000 acres! Why is this such a great achievement? Click here to learn.

Summary

Milwaukee's Metropolitan Sewerage District is working with the Fund to implement its Greenseams program, an innovative flood management program that uses land conservation as a tool to safeguard the community and its water supply.

Challenge

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District sought a cost-effective approach to flood management for its service area, encorporating 28 communities and 1.1 million people in a 420 square-mile area.

Solution

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District chose the Fund to implement its Greenseams program, an ambitious initiative to conserve water and prevent flooding through land protection. The Fund helps the MMSD acquire land along river corridors containing hydric soils that can rapidly absorb millions of gallons of water when left undeveloped.

Watch this video—featuring the Fund's Peg Kohring—and learn how this innovative program is on "the cutting edge" of the green infrastructure movement.