MILWAUKEE — Don't illegally dump into storm drains! That's the message from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
MMSD says the oil someone illegally dumped into a storm sewer, came flowing out into the Milwaukee River right next to Lincoln Golf Course, which eventually ends up in Lake Michigan, our drinking water.
“It's almost like a lava lamp,” said Erik Owan, who spotted the problem right in his backyard. “It’s nasty looking, you can see the iridescent sheen on the surface.”
His wife Elizabeth Owan worries about the environment, “We have deer, we have turkeys, we have animals that all drink out of the water right here.”
Bill Graffin with MMSD says they worked with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to investigate, “Traced that storm drain back up line, popped a couple of the manholes, and when they did that they could see an oil sheen on top of the water straight down the manhole.”
Graffin says they believe someone illegally dumped petroleum oil into a City of Milwaukee storm drain. He’s not surprised, “It happens. Never a good idea to pour anything into those storm sewers, because they go right to our drinking water.”
Because a number of catch basins feed into Milwaukee storm drains, they could not find the actual source of the leak.
Owan says he spoke to a DNR warden out investigating the area Tuesday, “When I showed him where the outflow was he said he'd been here several times this year already.”
Regional spill coordinator for the DNR, Riley Neumann sent us an e-mail that said in part, “The DNR has been notified via our spills hotline and we have been assisting the City of Milwaukee to Investigate/Mitigate. We have observed a sheen but not oil sludge.”
MMSD reminds the public that they have a Hazardous Waste Program where any Milwaukee County resident can drop off their leftover oil, car fluids, and fertilizers for free. Graffin adds, “Fingernail polish, all kinds of stuff! Bring it to us. We'll dispose of it properly.”
You can also be notified when storm drains are full, and do your part to prevent sewage overflow from going into Lake Michigan from time to time, like when we have a big storm by signing up for the Water Drop Alert. Click here to learn more.
Cheryl Nenn with Milwaukee River Keepers also shares they have a river cleanup planned for Saturday April 22nd from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Click here to learn more.
The DNR has a 24-hour spill emergency hotline: 1-800-943-0003 for immediate reporting of agricultural and other spills.
