Grant to help village target flooding, river pollution

It took several months, but the Village of Fredonia is one step closer to managing stormwater and flooding.

The Fund for Lake Michigan gave the village a $75,000 grant for the Fredonia Creek Stormwater Resilience Planning Project.

“It’s really exciting we’ve gotten that,” Village Administrator Christophe Jenkins said. “We’ve been working on the grant for four to five months.”

The grant will pay for an engineering firm to develop a villagewide stormwater management plan to identify existing and potential stormwater challenges across Fredonia.

Areas covered include parks, public property, streets and infrastructure, and the plan will provide long-term strategies to reduce flooding risks and improve watershed resilience.

The plan will also set up the village to pursue local, state and federal grants for stormwater mitigation and infrastructure upgrades.

Managing stormwater not only protects property, it benefits waterways, Fund for Lake Michigan Program Officer Casey Eggleston said.

“The Milwaukee River we see today would have been unthinkable 50 years ago. Today, people are kayaking, swimming and fishing from downtown Milwaukee to West Bend,” he said. “The cleanup of the Milwaukee River has only been possible with committed effort of communities, organizations and individuals throughout the watershed. With this grant, the Village of Fredonia will continue to do their part to keep our beautiful river clean for future generations to enjoy.”

Jenkins said that while stormwater management isn’t regularly a top-of-mind issue, it is vital to plan for.

“Stormwater management is one of those things that the average resident may not think about on a day-to-day basis, but having a mitigation plan in place allows the Village to prepare, assess risk and be good stewards of the properties within our jurisdiction,” he said.

During rainstorms, the issue of stormwater management moves to the forefront of residents affected.

“The last couple of years when we had heavy rainfall, some of our low-point roads have begun to fill with rainwater,” Jenkins told the Village Board in May.

“We could probably drive through and tell you where the low points are, but you need a plan in place in order to then qualify for these other grants,” he said.