Water Quality Group Receives $1.9M grant

The Joyce Foundation of Chicago has awarded a three-year, $1.9 million grant to a group of organizations working to improve water quality in the Milwaukee River basin.

The grant supports environmental groups, such as the Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust (SWWT), which Milwaukee Riverkeeper is part of,  to develop projects that will improve water quality and habitat, and help improve the health and economy of communities in Milwaukee-area watersheds.

Funds will help establish project priorities, support sound science and analyze policy issues.  Milwaukee Riverkeeper will use the funds specifically to expand citizen water quality monitoring, identify sources of bacteria contamination in the Menomonee River, and serve as a leader for the Watershed Action Teams, which will coordinate implementation of Watershed Restoration Plans for both the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers.

"This investment provides enormous momentum toward making measurable improvements in our water quality," said Pat Marchese, chairman of the executive steering council of the Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, also known as the Sweet Water Trust. "The grant will enable the trust and its environmental partners to work collaboratively to build community support for implementing cost effective water quality improvement projects in the greater Milwaukee Watersheds."

In addition to the trust and Milwaukee Riverkeeper, environmental partners receiving funding are: 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Clean Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Advocates, River Alliance of Wisconsin, River Revitalization Foundation, and Sixteenth Street Community Health Center.

Read article at Milwaukee Business Journal