COMMONS MAGAZINE

Reprinted from
Milwaukee Water Commons

Posted
July 24, 2015

The Water That Made Milwaukee Famous

The new group Milwaukee Water Commons sets 8 goals for sustainability, equity and community

Image courtesy of Milwaukee Water Commons 

Here's a new video showcasing the work of the Milwaukee Water Commons to make Milwaukee a Water City that works for everyone, including future generations and the natural world.  On Sunday August 9, they are holding a community beachfront celebration, We Are Water

Here's an update about their Water City 3.0 meeting held in June from their website:

Through a highly participatory process involving over 200 people and months of work, we’ve collaborated with you to frame up eight types of water goals that have emerged in our discussions so far:

  • Every child receives a water education and increased access to water fun. This means our kids know how to swim; how to get to rivers, pools and the lake; and engage in water-based curriculum across multiple disciplines and throughout the duration of their schooling.
  • Milwaukee, the City of Festivals, hosts an annual Water Festival that both celebrates and pays tribute to our waters.
  • Creative signage is installed to highlight our water recreation opportunities and other water and watershed features.
  • The number of public water bottle refill stations and bubblers are increased all over the city.
  • The City prioritizes green infrastructure and requires new construction to include more green roofs, rain gardens, water capture and reclamation systems, and other forms of water conservation. 
  • Our three rivers and their tributaries are restored and naturalized so they meet or exceed water quality standards.
  • Milwaukee incentivizes the development of interactive water apps that allow users to share useful water info, alerts, events and citizen science.
  • As a city we foster technology and the development of jobs focused on water protection and conservation, positioning Milwaukee as a recognized leader in stewardship technology.

Through a highly participatory process involving over 200 people and months of work, we’ve collaborated with you to frame up eight types of water goals that have emerged in our discussions so far:

  • Every child receives a water education and increased access to water fun. This means our kids know how to swim; how to get to rivers, pools and the lake; and engage in water-based curriculum across multiple disciplines and throughout the duration of their schooling.
  • Milwaukee, the City of Festivals, hosts anannual Water Festival that both celebrates and pays tribute to our waters.
  • Creative signage is installed to highlight our water recreation opportunities and other water and watershed features.
  • The number of public water bottle refill stations and bubblers are increased all over the city.
  • The City prioritizes green infrastructure and requires new construction to include more green roofs, rain gardens, water capture and reclamation systems, and other forms of water conservation. 
  • Our three rivers and their tributaries are restored and naturalized so they meet or exceed water quality standards.
  • Milwaukee incentivizes the development of interactive water apps that allow users to share useful water info, alerts, events and citizen science.
  • As a city we foster technology and the development of jobs focused on water protection and conservation, positioning Milwaukee as a recognized leader in stewardship technology.
None of these are written in stone, and we welcome your revisions and new ideas. To test these ideas and those that we'll continue to gather, we’ll travel to parks, beaches, events and gatherings this summer on our “WaterCycle” - a mobile bicycle info hub and voting booth – and invite people to weigh in on their favorite initiatives.

We’ll also hold several community visioning sessions this summer to generate more ideas and engage more people.  We’ll present the ideas that receive the most support at a town hall later this fall – stay tuned for the date and location.

There are so many ways you can participate. You can:
  • Hold a community visioning session with a group of people you bring together,
  • Invite the WaterCycle to come to your event, or better yet,
  • Become a WaterCyclist and take Water City to the streets! 

Let us know how you’d like to be involved – we welcome your participation and look forward to seeing you soon.