Grasslyn Manor Neighbors “Build the Ark”
How to Keep Hope Afloat
Chronic basement flooding has left the residents of Milwaukee’s Grasslyn Manor neighborhood wearied — fearing what the rains will bring.
That’s why residents united and enlisted partners to demand solutions. Inspired by the Biblical story of Noah preparing for the flood, they call their collective effort “Building the Ark.”
Meeting monthly for over a year at Albright United Methodist Church from 2023 through 2024, neighbors shared their stories to inform the engineers analyzing flood risk and proposing solutions — basement and sewer inspections, green infrastructure, and a handbook. They volunteered: stenciling 92 storm drains, going door to door with surveys, shoring up the foundations of older homes with mounds of earth.
Located in the north part of Sherman Park, Grassyln Manor is a neighborhood just south of Capitol Drive between 51st and 60th streets. In the 1800s, the area included marshes as streams here fed into Lincoln Creek. Water still has to go somewhere. Hard landscapes, like acres of parking lots that are impervious to water, have dramatically changed how water flows. Homes here were built atop flat former farm fields at the city's farthest outskirts. Sewers cannot drain this low-lying neighborhood fast enough to prevent all basement flooding.
Working with Alder DiAndre Jackson, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, consultant Greenprint Partners, and other partners, neighbors want Grasslyn Manor to receive the benefits of public investment. They want dry basements so they can stay in their homes.
Grasslyn Manor’s water story is a beacon for Milwaukee — resolute neighbors facing adversity together in order to keep hope afloat.
History
Action
Results
Federal land survey maps from the 1830s show two streams running through the area that drained into “Mud Creek” later named Lincoln Creek.
Prior to residential development of farm fields in the 1940s streams still cut across the agricultural land north of Capitol Drive.
In 1953 some 84 acres were developed for the Capitol Court (later Midtown Center) shopping center; topsoil was replaced with paved lots.
Neighbors in Action!
Meetings
Storm Drain Stenciling
Earthmoving
Dozens of neighbors participated in months of meetings to identify basement flooding issues and discuss solutions guided by Greenprint Partners.
In June 2024 over a dozen neighbors took to the streets with Sweet Water Trust’s Adopt-a-Drain program to clean and maintain storm drains.
In July 2024 neighbors shoveled and wheelbarrowed buckets of earth to shore up home foundations and fill raised-bed gardens.
Achieving Results Together
Greenprint Report
Consultant Greenprint Partners produced a report analyzing Grasslyn Manor’s stormwater management challenges and itemizing solutions.
In 2024 the City of Milwaukee committed to Private Property Inflow and Infiltration work for Grasslyn Manor of up to $329,000 from MMSD.
WaterMarker
Albright United Methodist Church at Capitol Drive and 56th Street is envisioned for a new WaterMarker to celebrate neighbor engagement.
