The $115 million landmark Lincoln Creek environmental rehabilitation project, engineered and designed by CDM for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), is a comprehensive flood control solution that enhances the water quality and neighboring environment.
By working with numerous agencies and community stakeholders to develop a technically sound and comprehensive improvement plan, CDM and MMSD expeditiously worked through bureaucratic hurdles to implement and construct flood control components quickly and cost effectively. The massive 4-year rehabilitation, which was completed more than 2 years ahead of the original schedule, creates a sustainable asset that provides flood control for a 1-percent probability flood event and brings flood relief to property owners.
The integrated project, supported by multiple stakeholders, incorporates numerous innovations in order to stabilize eroding banks, improve and create wildlife habitats, increase neighborhood safety, and thusly, renew a community asset. Some of the project's unique features include:
A unique bio-veneer/hardened channel lining that provides structural integrity to minimize bank erosion while supporting the natural ecosystem.
Low-flow channel, with pools and riffles, and a meandering streambed provide a suitable environment for macroinvertebrates and restore aquatic habitat for native fish and wildlife.
Two new multipurpose detention facilities provide floodwater storage capacity, serve as educational facilities, and create wetlands for water quality enhancement.
New pedestrian and traffic bridges maintain and promote interaction between neighborhoods.
Vegetation management, increased line-of-sight visibility, and reduced flow velocities create a safer, open, and more welcoming corridor area.
Detailed conservation plan protects the threatened habitat of the Butler's garter snake by creating snake hibernacula (den sites) to aid in recovery.
Reduced floodplain area will remove over 2,000 structures from the floodplain, eliminating the need for flood insurance (a potential $600,000 to $1.2 million in annual savings) while increasing property values.