June 12, 2023 9:30p
(WGTD)---The environmental group in charge of cleaning up the Root and Pike river watersheds in southeast Wisconsin is unveiling two new initiatives.
Root-Pike WIN announced Monday that Microsoft will finance improvements to a mile-and-a-half long drainage ditch called Lamparek Creek. The waterway flows near the site of the company’s planned data center in Mt. Pleasant.
The improvement project is part of a 2014 EPA/DNR plan for the region.
Dave Giordano, executive director of the non-profit, envisions that the project, when completed, will filter runoff pollutants, reduce storm water volume and velocity, provide rich habitats for diverse wildlife and enhance water quality in the Pike River watershed.
The second initiative involves pulling in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fund an improvement project at the Lake Michigan coastal Cliffside Park near the Racine/Milwaukee county line.
Giordano said the Corps will focus on reducing sediment flow from a spectacularly large ravine that Giordano has dubbed Racine County's "Grand Canyon."
"it dumps about a-thousand tons of sediment into Lake Michigan every year," Giordano said during a recent appearance on WGTD's Morning Show.
Other parts of the park are in line for improvement. Work has already begun to create new open-water wetlands.
The wetlands are being improved to support habitat for migratory birds along the Lake Michigan River flyway.
This work is being financed by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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