Description of the Study Area
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Chapter II DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA INTRODUCTION The water-resource and water-resource-related problems of a watershed, as well as the ultimate solutions to those problems, are a function of the human activities within the watershed and of the ability of the underlying natural resource base to sustain those activities. Regional water quality management planning seeks to rationally direct the future course of human actions within the watershed so as to promote the conservation and wise use of the natural resource base. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to describe the natural resource base and the man-made features of the greater Milwaukee watersheds, thereby establishing a factual base upon which the regional water quality management planning process may proceed. This description of the study area is presented in two major sections: the first describes the man-made features; the second describes the natural resource base of the watersheds. REGIONAL AND WATERSHED SETTING OF THE PLANNING AREA The planning area encompasses the greater Milwaukee watersheds within Southeastern Wisconsin, which, as shown on Map 1 in Chapter I of this report, cover approximately 1,127 square miles. About 861 square miles of these watersheds are located within the seven-county Southeastern Wisconsin Region, representing about 32 per- cent of the Region. Within the region, these watersheds include all of the Kinnickinnic River, Menomonee River, Oak Creek, and Root River watersheds, portions of the Milwaukee River watershed, and lands directly tributary to Lake Michigan. In addition, approximately 266 square miles of the greater Milwaukee watersheds, or about 23.6 percent of the study area, are located outside of the Region. This portion of the study area consists of the upper reaches of the Milwaukee River watershed, located in Dodge, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan Counties. The greater Milwaukee watersheds are drained by approximately 1,010 miles of streams, including the Kinnickinnic River and its tributaries, the Menomonee River and its tributaries, the Milwaukee River and its tributaries, Oak Creek and its tributaries, and the Root River and its tributaries, as well as several smaller streams draining directly to Lake Michigan. Importantly, the study area also includes the Milwaukee Harbor Estuary and the nearshore Lake Michigan area. MAN-MADE FEATURES OF THE STUDY AREA The man-made features of the study area include its political boundaries, land use pattern, including park and open spaces and historic sites, public utility network, and transportation system. Together with the population residing and the economic activities taking place within the study area, these features may be thought of as the socioeconomic base. A description of this socioeconomic base is an important aspect of watershed-based water quality management planning. Any attempt to protect or improve the socioeconomic environment must be founded in an understanding, not only of the various demands for land, public facilities, and resources generated 11 by the demographic and economic activities of an area, but also the ability of the existing land use pattern and public facility systems to meet those demands. In order to facilitate such understanding, a description of the socioeconomic base of the greater Milwaukee watersheds is presented in four sections. The first section places these watersheds in perspective as a rational planning unit within a regional setting by delineating their internal political and governmental boundaries and relating these boundaries to the Region as a whole. The second section describes the demographic and economic base of the area in terms of population size, distribution, and composition and in terms of employment levels and distribution. The third section describes the pattern of land use in the watershed in terms of both historical development and existing (2000) conditions. The fourth section describes the public and private utility systems within the study area. These elements comprise the man-made features of the study area which are most directly related to water quality management planning. UNITS OF GOVERNMENT Civil Divisions Superimposed on the irregular study area boundary as defined by watershed boundaries is a pattern of local political boundaries. As shown on Map 2, the watersheds lie primarily within Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha Counties with small portions in northern Kenosha and northeastern Dodge Counties. Eighty-eight civil divisions lie in part or entirely within the greater Milwaukee watersheds, as also shown on Map 2 and in Table 1. Geographic boundaries of the civil divisions are an important factor which must be considered in any watershed-based planning effort like the regional water quality manage- ment plan update program, since the civil divisions form the basic foundation of the public decision-making framework within which intergovernmental, environmental, and developmental problems must be addressed. Special-Purpose Units of Government Special-purpose units of government are of particular interest to the water quality management update planning program. Among these are the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD); the legally established, active town sanitary and utility districts created to provide various urban-related services, such as sanitary sewerage, water supply, and solid waste collection and disposal, to designated portions of rural towns with urban service needs; and inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts. Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is directed by an appointed Commission. The MMSD includes all of Milwaukee County, except the City of South Milwaukee and portions of the City of Franklin. In addition, sewage conveyance and treatment services are provided to portions of Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, and Waukesha Counties. The District, which exists pursuant to the provisions of Section 200.23 of the Wisconsin Statutes, has a number of important responsibilities in the area of water resources management, including the provision of floodland management programs for most of the major streams within the District and the collection, transmission, and treatment of domestic, industrial, and other sanitary sewage generated in the District and its contract service areas. The MMSD has defined a series of interrelated projects which were designed to carry out its sewage management responsibilities, and which are collectively referred to as the Milwaukee water pollution abatement program. These projects were developed through facilities planning programs which were subregional in nature, the latest of which was completed in 1998 and had a design year of 2010. The present MMSD initiative, which is being conducted in coordination with the regional water quality management plan update, seeks to amend and extend its sewerage facilities plan to a design year of 2020. Town Sanitary and Utility Districts There are nine active town sanitary and utility districts within the study area: the Caledonia East and West Utility Districts in the Villages of Caledonia, North Bay, and Wind Point; the Lake Ellen Sanitary District in the Town of Lyndon; the Mount Pleasant Sewer Utility District No. 1 in the Village of Mt. Pleasant; the Silver Lake 12 FOND DU LAC Map 2 28 PLYMOUTH 30 34 Plymouth Sheboygan Forest Greenbush LaMartine Fond du lac Empire CIVIL DIVISIONS WITHIN THE SHEBOYGAN 63 41 REGIONAL WATER QUALITYOAKFIELD EDEN WALDO MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE 40 43 STUDY AREA: 2000 27 62 24 CASCADE Byron Lima Wilson Mitchell Lyndon Oakfield FOND DU LAC CO. Eden Osceola 56 DODGE CO. OOSTBURG 39 CAMPBELLSPORT ADELL BROWNSVILLE 73 61 CEDAR LOMIRA 21 51 20 CO. SHEBOYGAN 35 GROVE 1 City of Brookfield 45 Town of Polk DU CO. LAC FOND 50 RANDOM 2 City of Cedarburg 46 Town of Port Washington LAKE Auburn 78 Holland 3 City of Cudahy 47 Town of Raymond Scott Sherman FOND DU LAC DU CO. LAC FOND SHEBOYGAN CO. Lomira CO. DODGE Ashford FOND DU LAC CO. OZAUKEE CO. 4 City of Franklin 48 Town of Richfield WASHINGTON CO. 5 City of Glendale 49 Town of Saukville 28 KEWASKUM 43 6 City of Greenfield 50 Town of Scott 72 7 City of Mequon 51 Town of Sherman 53 37 57 14 4 8 City of Milwaukee 52 Town of Trenton 45 29 31 BELGIUM 9 City of Muskego 53 Town of Wayne Kewaskum FREDONIA 10 City of New Berlin 54 Town of West Bend 66 32 11 City of Oak Creek 55 Town of Yorkville Belgium Fredonia 12 City of Port Washington 56 Village of Adell 41 Wayne 22 Farmington 13 City of Racine 57 Village of Bayside Barton NEWBURG Port 14 City of South Milwaukee 58 Village of Brown Deer 18 76 Washington 15 City of St. Francis 59 Village of Butler 33 49 WEST 46 16 City of Wauwatosa 60 Village of Caledonia BEND 14 4 52 17 City of West Allis 61 Village of Campbellsport PORT 33 WASHINGTON 18 City of West Bend 62 Village of Cascade 17 5 54 WASHINGTON CO. WASHINGTON 80 19 Town of Addison 63 Village of Eden 19 SAUKVILLE 12 20 Town of Ashford 64 Village of Elm Grove Addison West Bend Trenton CO. OZAUKEE Saukville 21 Town of Auburn 65 Village of Fox Point 32 22 Town of Barton 66 Village of Fredonia 83 33 23 Town of Brookfield 67 Village of Germantown HARTFORD 45 JACKSON 24 Town of Byron 68 Village of Grafton SLINGER 25 25 Town of Cedarburg 69 Village of Greendale 71 60 68 60 GRAFTON 26 Town of Dover 70 Village of Hales Corners 82 41 36 MMSD 2020 27 Town of Eden 71 Village of Jackson 45 2 32 43 PLANNING 28 Town of Empire 72 Village of Kewaskum 16 4 CEDARBURG Jackson Grafton 57 AREA Hartford Polk Cedarburg 29 Town of Farmington 73 Village of Lomira 32 Germantown 30 Town of Forest 74 Village of Menomonee Falls 18 1 31 Town of Fredonia 75 Village of Mt. Pleasant 48 MEQUON 32 Town of Germantown 76 Village of Newburg 16 7 14 5 THIENSVILLE WASHINGTON CO.