Ozaukee County leaders credit infrastructure and habitat restoration projects at local parks with helping retain water runoff.

Ozaukee County

Ozaukee County experienced heavy rainfall similar to neighboring areas but avoided the worst flooding, which officials attribute to ongoing infrastructure and habitat restoration projects in local parks. These efforts, funded in part by the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, have focused on restoring wetlands and creating water retention basins over the past 15 years.

County leaders report that parks like Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve and Fiends Bill's Village Park played a key role in managing water runoff and preventing severe flooding in residential areas. Residents and officials note that these projects not only provide recreational spaces but also help protect homes and streets from flood damage. Additional projects are planned to address erosion along the county's lakeside bluffs.

Ozaukee County parks helped reduce recent flooding impact

Like much of the Milwaukee County area, Ozaukee County received several inches of rain over the weekend, but many neighbors there were spared from the worst of the flooding. County leaders credit a series of infrastructure and habitat restoration projects at local parks with helping retain the water runoff. Our Ozaukee County reporter Alex Goss spoke with park goer Victoria and Andrew from the county about why the improvements are needed. Victoria Debarge is wrapping up a morning stroll great for families to come and visit with her son and friends at Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve. It's a good time to hang out with the friends who doesn't like nature. This preserve isn't just pretty, it's also functional. None was that more apparent than during last week's floods. This is why we need these spaces. Andrew Strzok is the county's director of planning and parks. In the wake of the floods, his department gave local leaders a tour of several parks like Lion's Den. We fared pretty well and that's because we've been investing in these projects. How did these projects actually help take the water in? A lot of these wetland areas were either farmed over or are degraded and so restoration is returning those historic wetlands. So we're actually creating basins over the last 15 years or so. Ozaki has put in more than $12 million into restoration projects countywide and funding comes from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Some of our parks, you know, somewhat designed to manage that water so we can keep it out of people's basements. Take Fiends Bill's Village Park where overflow from the Milwaukee River rushed in and kept severe flooding off of many of the village's main streets. Any bit helps, especially here on these coastal parks. It's a two fold benefit to neighbors who enjoy the parks that also help reduce flooding. My house was fine luckily, but I know port like downtown port, I think had some future projects are planned to protect Ozaki's lakeside bluffs from erosion. Alex call TMJ four news.

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