Valley Creek project will bring stream to park

Veterans Memorial Park will take on a new look with the addition of a stream when the Valley Creek restoration project is done by the City of Port Washington.

The Common Council agreed last week to modify the original plan by eliminating the box culvert just to the north of the Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Hall, instead sending the creek over land on the north side of the hall, through a culvert under Lake Street and then above ground to the lake.

“It’s very rare a community gets to restore and bring back an original navigable stream,” Mayor Ted Neitzke said. “I think this is incredible.”

Ald. Deb Postl concurred, saying, “I think this is extremely important. I’m really excited about this project.”

The change will complement the entire Valley Creek project while helping to mitigate the flooding that has plagued the area during heavy rain events, Ald. Paul Neumyer added.

The change was requested by Ald. Mike Gasper, who said it will transform the area.

“I want it to be a nice park amenity,” he said of the stream.

That will be accomplished, City Engineer Roger Strohm said.

“We really expect the creek to be part of the park,” he said, noting the banks of the creek will be relatively shallow, improving access to it, and the waterway will likely have frogs and fish that will draw people to it.

A pedestrian bridge will also be built over the creek on the far east side of the park, where a lakefront sidewalk currently is located.

The original plan called for the creek to run through a new, large culvert north of the Legion Hall, under Lake Street and then over land to the lake.

But while officials were enthusiastic about the aesthetics of the new plan, they emphasized that the change will also be functional, helping to mitigate flooding in the area and improve habitat for fish.

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said that in a 100-year storm, the water in the Lake Street area is projected to be three feet lower than it would have been if the creek were routed through a culvert north of the Legion Hall.

“It’s one of the largest drops I’ve seen,” stream engineer Heather Schwar from the engineering firm Stantec said.

Stantec project manager Sarah Majerus and Schwar noted that the change will also increase flood storage upstream, increase the amount of water absorbed into the ground and improve fish passage from Lake Michigan to upstream Valley Creek.

“Fish don’t like to swim through a 600-foot, dark culvert,” Schwar said. “More fish will want to go through this.”

Because a culvert is eliminated, the construction cost will be reduced, they said, and the infrastructure will require less maintenance.

The project plan doesn’t reduce the number of parking spaces in the area, which will remain at 75.

“This is a big change (from the previous plan),” Schwar said. “We think it’s a great change.”

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 weren’t enough to create the resilient and sustainable creek that’s needed, officials said.

The issues facing Valley Creek are many — erosion, downcutting of the channel, declining water quality, exposed utility pipes and invasive species.

The 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 to Lake Michigan.

The cost of the Valley Creek project is estimated at $20 million.

The city has received commitments for more than half that cost so far, including $10 million from the tax incremental financing district 5 — the headwaters of the creek are in the district — a $2.4 million donation from Vantage Data Centers, a $218,000 runoff management grant and $100,000 from a recreational trails grant.

The city has a pending application for a $4 million Congressional allocation, and it has applied for a $6.35 million National Fish and Wildlife grant.

If the city gets the majority of these grants, Majerus said, it would be a “really healthy” start.

Depending on funding, she added, the city could consider phasing in the project.

Design plans for the project are 60% complete, and they are expected to be 90% complete by the end of May.

Ald. Mary Lou Mueller asked if the Department of Natural Resources will stock the creek with fish, something Majerus said is part of the plan.

“We’re hoping for northern pike.” she said.

Neitzke asked if the project could include a community service aspect for students in the Port-Saukville schools, something officials said they will work on.