Wauwatosa Providing Expertise in Clean Water Initiative

Wauwatosa is one of 10 communities who adopted a watershed stormwater permit that will have the communities working together to address pollutants, reported Wauwatosa Now.

The program is promoted by Southeastern Wisconsin Wastersheds Trust Inc., known as Sweet Water.

A watershed-based permit is designed to address the runoff to an entire water system.

This new permit encourages communities to work together using communities' strengths. Wauwatosa's strengths are in green rooftops, rain gardens and bioswales.

For example, Maggie Anderson, a civil engineer with the city of Wauwatosa, told Wauwatosa Now that the city might help Menomonee Falls with an erosion problem.

Other municipalities participating in the program include Brookfield, Milwaukee, Greenfield and Wauwatosa; the villages of Butler, Elm Grove, Germantown, West Allis, West Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls; and Milwaukee County.

Sweet Water’s “purpose is to achieve significant improvements in water quality, esthetics and habitat in the southeastern Wisconsin watersheds.”