Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers changes name to Milwaukee Riverkeeper

Friends of Milwaukee’s Rivers announced today that it is changing its name to Milwaukee Riverkeeper®. The organization, now thirteen years old, has been licensed as the Milwaukee Riverkeeper since 1998. 

 

“We are certainly still friends of all three of our rivers” stated Executive Director, Dr. Lynn Broaddus, “but in recent years more and more people have come to know us in our Riverkeeper role. The new name reflects that reality.” The new name reflects the organization’s focus on a vision of rivers that are once again clean enough for swimming and being able to safely eat the fish that are caught.

 

“We are proud to more fully embrace our identity as Milwaukee Riverkeeper, and join over 181 other grassroots groups and individuals throughout the world who are the local spokespersons, advocates, scientists, lawyers, and protectors of their waterways” said Cheryl Nenn, who serves in the staff position of Milwaukee Riverkeeper, and is also a Board Member for the Waterkeeper Alliance. “As Milwaukee Riverkeeper, we identify sources of pollution, respond to citizen concerns, and work with our partners to find solutions to problems affecting our rivers.”

 

"Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers has been an incredibly effective organization in the Milwaukee area and across the Great Lakes,” said Steve Fleischli, President of the Waterkeeper Alliance. “The entire Waterkeeper movement is honored to see them fully embrace their membership in the Waterkeeper Alliance by changing their name to Milwaukee Riverkeeper.”

 

In its first thirteen years, the organization has been involved in a wide variety of river-improvement initiatives. It is perhaps most widely known for the annual river cleanup which attracts more than 2,500 volunteers to 35 sites in Milwaukee and upstream communities. Other accomplishments include working toward the removal of a drop structure on the Menomonee River, protection of the Milwaukee County Grounds, removal of a dam on Pigeon Creek to open up miles of potential trout stream, advocacy for sewage right-to-know matters, litigation against illegal sanitary sewer overflows, creation of rain gardens, marking of storm drains, protection of river buffers through zoning ordinances and state regulation, and much more. 

 

Our past efforts to identify and draw attention to river pollution have met with success. In August of this year, Governor Doyle pledged over $17 million to dredge contaminated sediments from the Kinnickinnic River on the south-side of Milwaukee, as well as to initiate cleanup upstream of the Estabrook Dam. The funds came after Milwaukee Riverkeeper brought attention to the Kinnickinnic River by working to get it designated as one of America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers. Milwaukee Riverkeeper also coordinates over 80 citizen volunteers that regularly monitor water quality in rivers throughout the Milwaukee River Basin, and is one of the largest water quality advocate groups in the State. 

 

Currently, the organization is monitoring stormwater outfalls on the Menomonee River and water samples to test for human bacteria, which if found would indicate contamination from leaky sanitary sewer pipes. Dr. Sandra McLellan’s lab at the Great Lakes WATER Institute is performing the lab work. The organization hopes to grow this program to other stretches of the rivers, including the Milwaukee and Kinnickinnic.

 

Findings from outfall tests will be shared with Wauwatosa, Milwaukee and other municipalities so that municipalities can prioritize aging infrastructure repairs and maintenance in a manner targeted at improving water quality. Milwaukee Riverkeeper also patrols our three rivers for other sources of pollution, such as erosion from construction sites, and monitors permits and projects that have potential to negatively impact our rivers. 

 

The organization is supported primarily through the private funding from individuals, foundations, and corporations.