I’ve written a lot about how I love Oak Creek. It’s such a special part of the 4th District as it meanders on its way to Grant Park and Lake Michigan.
It’s also far from perfect. It’s overgrown with vegetation in places, and it can get dammed from time to time with fallen trees and other debris. It’s also far from desirable as a recreational option.
What can or should be done to address these concerns and make the creek an even more valuable resource for South Milwaukee and other area communities?
That was the subject of a meeting held earlier this week at City Hall, where about 20 people gathered to discuss the creek and its future. Among those in attendance were city leaders (including Mayor Tom Zepecki, Alderman David Bartoshevich, City Engineer Kyle Vandercar and me) and representatives from the Milwaukee County Department of Public Works, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
The discussion centered around what can and should be done to ensure Oak Creek is effectively controlling flooding (and not contributing to it).
Among the questions raised: Who “owns” certain parts of the creek? Who is responsible for keeping it clear? What about dredging the Mill Pond? And, perhaps more importantly, would improving the flow of the creek and/or dredging potentially help lessen the severity of flooding for area homeowners? Also, what role could these efforts play in enhancing the recreational options the creek allows?
There honestly weren’t many answers coming out of the meeting, but at least we’re talking about these issues. That’s why Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik should get a lot of credit for organizing the gathering and taking the lead on this issue.
This discussion is long overdue, and valuable, and it ended, for now, on Monday with SEWRPC pledging to look into what it will take to do a deeper dive study on the creek and come up with some options. We’ll see where that leads.
Like the creek, this will move slowly. But at least it’s moving. I hope it leads to a day where all key stakeholders realize that maintaining and enhancing the Oak Creek watershed is a partnership, a shared responsibility by all of those who enjoy and benefit from a well-maintained waterway.
It’s not the county’s creek. It’s not one city’s creek. It’s the region’s creek. We need to act like it.
I’ll keep you posted, and please post your comments below.
