Port moves forward with plan to restore a ‘gem’

Valley Creek, which runs from Port Washington’s north side, along the bike trail and to Lake Michigan, is a shadow of what it could be.

But the City of Port plans to change all that. Since, 2018, when flooding brought attention to the creek, officials have been working on an ambitious plan to not only restore the creek to the healthy waterway it once was but to also increase public access to it.

That plan, which is expected to cost $10 million to $20 million, will be the subject of an informational meeting from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at City Hall.

The session will include a presentation about the overall project followed by a question-and-answer period during which comments about the restoration effort will be received.

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said input is needed as the city forges ahead with planning for the project, which he said could create a “real environmental gem in the city. Valley Creek needs a little attention to restore it to its original environment.”

The Valley Creek project would use nature-based solutions to prevent degradation, protect critical infrastructure, reduce flooding risk and restore local habitats from an area just north of Birchwood Hills Nature Preserve, where Vanden Noven said the creek “really starts to take shape,” to Lake Michigan.

The 1.9-mile project got a boost recently when Vantage Data Centers pledged $3 million to it as part of its goal to replenish more water to freshwater sources than it uses.

“We are particularly excited about this opportunity because of the numerous benefits it has for the residents of Port Washington, from reducing flooding to creating a healthier environment for aquatic species,” Mark Freeman, Vantage’s vice president for global marketing, said.

“This is just one of many local partnerships we are planning in order to be part of Port Washington and contribute in meaningful ways to the community.”

The Valley Creek project got its start after a 2018 flood caused significant damage to Veterans Park and the Lighthouse Condominiums. While the city undertook some measures to deal with the flooding, they aren’t enough to create the resilient and sustainable creek that’s needed, Vanden Noven said.

“We want to seek a more sustainable solution,” Vanden Noven said. “We want to be able to sleep at night when there’s a storm and know we’re not going to find the water treatment plant has flooded, the Lighthouse Condominiums have flooded. 

“The only way to reset the balance of nature is to engineer a solution.”

The issues are many — erosion, downcutting of the channel, declining water quality, exposed utility pipes and invasive species are only a few.

The city has been working with the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership and the engineering firm Stantec on a solution. The engineering and design of the project is 30% completed, and Vanden Noven said he expects the full design, complete with a more definitive cost estimate, to be done in 2027. 

The city, which has paid for the design and engineering work with about $1.5 million in grants, has already started applying for grant money for the construction, Vanden Noven said.

If the city manages to obtain all the grant money, it could start work in 2027, he said, adding the project would take a few years to complete.

“We may have to piece this together depending on grant availability,” Vanden Noven added. 

Vantage’s donation will help in that respect, he said, noting it will not only help fund work, it can also be used as matching funds for grants.

“It really does double duty,” he said. “It not only allows us to do a lot of work, it allows us to get additional funding. It gives this project more momentum.”

Amy Lentz, interim director of the LNRP, said getting that first large donation helps get others.

“It’s a way for other investors in the project to see there’s already someone who believes in it enough to invest in it,” she said.

It can also be used for aspects of the project that fall outside grant parameters, she said.

The stormwater ponds Vantage will create at its data center campus will also help with the project by reducing flash flooding and improving the quality of the runoff, Vanden Noven said.

Lentz noted that the project’s main goals are to reconnect the creek to the floodplain, dissipating its energy, and help with stormwater management, in part using green infrastructure to filter the stormwater before it gets to the lake.

It will improve habitat by improving water quality and removing impediments to fish, she said, and increase public access to the creek.

Vanden Noven agreed, saying, “A person shouldn’t have to get in a car to experience the environment. Here we can have that experience in the middle of the city.”

Vanden Noven pointed to two aspects of the project as “transformational” — the potential to open the box culvert at Veterans Park and allow the creek to flow over land to the lake and improvements at Antoine Park that will remove invasive species, repair the banks and stabilize the creekbed, turning it into a feature.