 The mission of Harbor District, Inc. is to lead the revitalization of Milwaukee’s Harbor District by connecting people to place, supporting a healthy business community, and improving the quality of our natural environment.
After a year of events that really wasn’t, Milwaukee Harbor District, Inc. is happy to announce that Harbor Fest will return this year. Celebrate all things fish, water, and ships on Sunday, September 19th from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm at 600 E. Greenfield Avenue – From E. Barclay to Harbor View Plaza. Not only are we excited for the return of this fun, family-friendly street festival, but we’re excited to be hosting the Milwaukee Boat Parade by Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Riveredge Nature Center's Sturgeon Fest! That’s right, a three-in-one extravaganza!
Enjoy food from our various food trucks, learn about the businesses in the Harbor District, visit our exhibitors for interactive activities and goodies, watch the Milwaukee Boat Parade, release your very own baby Sturgeon, and dance the afternoon away with Caché!
If you are interested in being a Harbor Fest Sponsor please contact natalia@harbordistrict.org.
The Nine Key Element (9KE) framework is being used to guide the implementation of the Milwaukee Basin TMDLs. This strategy and development of these 9KE Implementation Plans is spelled out in the Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP). The Southeastern Wisconsin Watershed Trust (aka SWWT, aka Sweet Water), along with numerous municipal, county, regional, and local partners, are working to develop 9KE Watershed Implementation Plans for the greater Milwaukee River Basin region. These are summarized below:
The following Nine Key Element Watershed Restoration plans have been formally approved and can guide implementation:
Sector Team Updates
The “2020 Wisconsin Report on Soil and Water Conservation” is now finished and available on our website! This 2020 Wisconsin Soil and Water Annual Report highlights how the perseverance and passion of landowners, farmers and conservationists—aided by technology and partnerships—supported continued conservation activity during a challenging year.
You are invited to share this report with your personal and professional networks to help share the story of conservation across Wisconsin.
Join Farmers for Lake Country for their August field day with guest speaker, Wayne Fredericks.
Wayne raises corn and soybeans on 750 acres and has been a long-time user of no-till, strip-till and cover crops, with a passion for finding out what is productive, profitable and sustainable for the long-term health of his soil and local water resources.
He is a past president of the Iowa Soybean Association and current director on the American Soybean Association, and brings a practical, down-to-earth approach based on experience and solid data collection. Learn more...
EPA is calling for grant applications to fund projects in the Great Lakes basin aimed at addressing stormwater runoff which carries pollution from the land into water bodies. These projects include innovative ways to reduce nutrients from agricultural runoff and a special consideration for underserved communities. EPA will award approximately $9 million in total for roughly 24 projects in three categories.
The Request for Applications (RFA) is posted on this page with instructions for applicants to submit their projects. Applications are due August 20, 2021.
The Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP) provides funding to producer-led groups that focus on nonpoint source pollution abatement activities through the Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Program (PLWPG).
Program Goal: To improve Wisconsin’s soil and water quality by supporting and advancing producer-led conservation solutions by increasing on the ground practices and farmer participation in these efforts.
2022 Funding Priorities
As this program continues to grow our funding priorities will focus on groups that demonstrate innovative and creative approaches to water quality improvements.
Our funding priorities for this funding cycle include:
- Expansion of cost-share programming to promote innovative practices and management such as alternative forages or other grain crops, planting green, precision conservation management, rotational grazing, agroforestry, low disturbance manure applications, cover crops, etc.
- Stacking practices to utilize and promote conservation systems, rather than individual practices
- Education efforts to learn about conservation practice benefits for specific watershed areas through on-farm demonstrations, trials and research
- Targeted outreach that promotes the financial and environmental benefits of conservation to farmers and other industry professionals
- Other projects that demonstrate innovation and growth
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Harmful algal blooms (HABs) including cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are starting to appear on Wisconsin's waters. The DNR Bureau of Water Quality and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services have created helpful resources for staff and the public, including fact sheets for how to identify harmful algae in a body of water, how to report a bloom, and what to watch for if a person or pet enters water that is experiencing an algal bloom.
More information is available on DNR's website and DHS' website. You can also view a 2021 Wisconsin Water Week DNR presentation on blue-green algae here.
The Return the Sturgeon Program is back! Join us on Sunday, September 19 to hand-release a Lake Sturgeon into Lake Michigan taking place at
Harbor Fest: 600 E. Greenfield Avenue.
Click here for a complete press release regarding 2021 Sturgeon Fest.
We look forward to seeing you and celebrating returning these fish to the Great Lakes in September 2021!
Enjoy family fun at Sturgeon Fest - one of the biggest annual conservation events and festivals in Wisconsin, returning a breeding population of Sturgeon to Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River!
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Healthy Lakes - Clean Waters invites you to join them IN PERSON for the 6th annual Lake Country Clean Water Healthy Lakes Conference on Friday, September 17th at the Oconomowoc Community Center.
Dr. Kris Wright's Keynote presentation will give an enthusiastic overview of the intricacies beneath the hulls of our boats and around our waders.
We will explore atoms to ecosystems, as he dives into a base knowledge of water and the lakes, rivers, and streams we cherish in Wisconsin.
We will discuss the fascinating relationships among environmental factors and aquatic communities, and even learn why water is essential for life on earth.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Technical Standard 1008 Permeable Pavement has been updated and is now available on the DNR’s storm water post-construction technical standards webpage. Changes from the previous version address maintenance and flow path concerns based on new research and technologies. Revisions included input from experts in the field and public review. This technical standard was updated through the Standards Oversight Council (SOC) Modified Process.
The DNR maintains, implements and develops storm water construction and post-construction technical standards to assist with the compliance of Chapter NR 151, Wisconsin Administrative Code. The DNR uses the process established by SOC to develop or revise technical standards pursuant to Subchapter V of NR 151. The DNR is a member of SOC, along with several other federal and state agencies and conservation organizations, to ensure that technical standards used for soil and water conservation in Wisconsin are science-based and involve collaboration with other stakeholders.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has notified the public of its intent to reissue the “Construction Site Storm Water Runoff General Permit” Storm Water Associated With Land Disturbing Construction Activity, Permit No. WI-S067831-6. This draft general permit will replace the Storm Water Associated With Land Disturbing Construction Activity, Permit No. WI-S067831-5.
The draft general permit is applicable to the point source discharge of pollutants to a water of the state associated with land disturbing construction storm water affecting or anticipated to affect one acre or more of land.
The documents (Public Notice of Intent, draft permit, and fact sheets) are available here: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Wastewater/PublicNotices.html.
The DNR will accept written comments on the proposed permit action until August 23, 2021. Comments may be submitted electronically to DNRSWPermits@wisconsin.gov.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to:
Melissa Yarrington
DNR Storm Water Program Coordinator, Wisconsin DNR
225051 Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau, WI 54401
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MKE TMDL 2021 WPDES Permit Status Updates
The following WPDES permitted facilities/communities have permits set to expire and be reissued with TMDL limits in 2021. Some of the information below is preliminary, and may change as progress is made towards limits.
- Cascade (reach MI-08) Multi-Discharger Variance, TSS by Sept 2026
- Fredonia (reach MI-15) TSS met, Adaptive Management
- General Mitchell Airport (reach KK-4, KK-5) - Ongoing BMP Implementation with point-source compliance plan
- Schreiber Foods (reach MI-24) - already meeting TMDL
- West Bend (MI-06) - TSS met, TP by July 2025
- WI DNR Kettle Moraine Hatchery (reach MI-11) TSS and TP met at re-issuance, Aug 2021.
If you are curious about what Adaptive Management looks like and related watershed-based permit compliance and restoration initiatives, Yahara WINS, the regional Adaptive Management Project for Madison Metropolitan Sewerage Distract (along with 15 other partners), is a great example. The 2020 Yahara WINS annual report is now available online on the Yahara WINS website - Yahara WINS 2020 Report
The Yahara Watershed Improvement Network, known as Yahara WINS, is a longterm initiative to achieve clean water goals for the Yahara watershed. In this effort, community partners, led by Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, are collaborating on a strategy called watershed adaptive management in which all sources of phosphorus in the watershed work together to reduce nutrient runoff over 20 years. The work began in 2012 and following a four-year pilot effort, it
has transitioned to the full-scale implementation throughout the whole watershed. 2021 marks the fifth full year of the initiative.
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Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing up to $17 million for conservation partners to help protect and restore critical wetlands on agricultural lands through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP). USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is prioritizing proposals that focus on assisting historically underserved producers conserving wetlands. Proposals from partners are due August 15, 2021.
Restored wetlands help to improve water quality downstream, enhance wildlife habitat, reduce impacts from flooding and provide recreational benefits. “Our goal is to support agricultural producers in their efforts to conserve natural resources on their land,” said Angela Biggs, State Conservationist in Wisconsin.“Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnerships help partners and producers work together to protect wetland ecosystems on working lands.”
Through WREP projects, eligible conservation partners protect, restore and enhance high-priority wetlands on agriculture lands. WREP enables effective integration of wetland restoration on working agricultural landscapes, providing meaningful benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program and to the communities where the wetlands exist.
Eligible partners include Tribes, state and local governments and non-government organizations. WREP funding is for fiscal year 2022 which begins on October 1, 2021.
How to Apply
Partners interested in applying should contact their NRCS state office for more information. Proposals are due by August 15, 2021.
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