Milwaukee, Wis. Grant Assistance and Green Infrastructure
Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF)
Milwaukee, Wis. | Commercial | Sustainable Water Engineering
Overview
AQUALIS assisted Summerfest earn grant assistance for Green Infrastructure redesign. The grounds, Henry W. Maier Festival Park, are home to Summerfest and host a variety of ethnic and cultural festivals, walks, runs, concerts, and other events each year. Seasonally, approximately 1.5 million people access the festival Grounds.
Problem
Summerfest is The World’s Largest Music Festival spanning 11 days. It is owned, operated, and produced by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. (MWF). MWF planned to convert an existing maintenance building on the grounds to serve as the new Summerfest Administration Building for its full-time staff of over forty employees. The stormwater runoff from the newly acquired maintenance building drained to the combined sewer without properly treating the stormwater runoff prior to discharging to Lake Michigan. Removing the discharge from the combined sewer and draining it directly to Lake Michigan aids to reduction in combined sewer overflows. Treating the stormwater also improves water quality in the lake.
Before
After
Results
AQUALIS assisted MWF in applying for and receiving $72,100 in grant funding from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) and $25,000 from the Fund for Lake Michigan to manage the site stormwater runoff using green infrastructure.
Once funding was secured, the AQUALIS Engineering team designed and implemented the solution, which features a 3,650 square-foot bioswale planted with native vegetation and designed to capture and treat all the roof water, permeable pavement blocks in the sidewalk and down the center of the parking lot, as well as a green roof incorporated into a rooftop entertaining space. Green infrastructure on this site captures and treats 44,990 gallons of stormwater before discharging to the storm sewer, and ultimately, Lake Michigan. The site can manage 50,000 gallons of water per rainfall.
This project treated all stormwater runoff from the site prior to discharging to Lake Michigan, reducing pollution in the Lake, creating cleaner drinking water and enhancing the environment for fish and wildlife.
Awards: WAFSCM Excellence in Project Design & Implementation, MMSD Green Luminary Award
