The purpose of this project is to identify flood mitigation alternatives that will reduce surface flooding throughout the Schoonmaker Creek Watershed and reduce flood risk to properties within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s (MMSD) jurisdictional reach.

The Schoonmaker Creek Watershed is roughly 1,900 acres (3.0 square miles) in the City of Wauwatosa and the City of Milwaukee. Most of the original Schoonmaker Creek has been enclosed in pipes. Only the short reach in the City of Wauwatosa between W Lloyd Street and Milwaukee Avenue remains an open channel.

The Watershed has experienced numerous heavy storm events since 1986 (when documentation began), causing flooding to streets, homes, and businesses due to the limited capacity of the enclosed system.

In 2014, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) assumed jurisdiction of the Schoonmaker Creek from W Lloyd Street to the connection with the Menomonee River. MMSD requested the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) perform a planning study of alternative approaches to mitigate flooding within the Schoonmaker Creek Watershed. SEWRPC completed the study in 2020.

In 2022, Wauwatosa’s Common Council recommended that two (2) alternatives from the SEWRPC report be further evaluated. Alternative One was a large tunnel, bored deep underground from W Lloyd Street along N 68th St to discharge at the Menomonee River. Alternative Two was a conventional storm sewer improvement consisting of a large box culvert starting at W Lloyd St and running south along Martha Washington Drive, W Martin Drive, and N 60th Street to discharge at the Menomonee River.

In the Fall of 2024, City Staff presented Alternative Two, the conventional storm sewer, as the preferred alternative at the Community Affairs Meeting on October 15, 2024. The Common Council passed a resolution on October 22, 2024, affirming the conventional storm sewer as the least costly option.

Since October of 2024, the City has completed additional modeling and engineering for improvements within the watershed areas north of Lloyd Street. City Staff have been working with MMSD to develop 30% design plans for work in MMSD’s jurisdictional reach of the Schoonmaker Creek.

The conclusion of alternative studies will identify specific construction projects, construction cost estimates, and construction phasing timelines for the City of Wauwatosa and MMSD as they prepare Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs). MMSD and City staff are working on Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreements (ICAs) to finalize roles, responsibilities, and cost-sharing for this effort.