Emilie Park in the city of Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — During heavy rain events, many eyes in Green Bay go to the East River to see if there could be flooding.
Converting park land to wetlands near the river and other areas of the city are currently being looked at to reduce the impacts of heavy rain events.
The first area to be converted would likely be Emilie Park. With the East River Trail running through it, it can be a popular place for people to be active on the city’s east side.
“We love the park,” said Holly Wagner, who has lived by the park since 1996. “It’s very well used with walkers, bike riders, dog walkers, just people out there playing.”
The city is in the conceptual phase of converting about half of the 23-acre park from traditional grass to wetlands, which would act as flood storage for the East River.
“Really nature has a much better way of naturally dealing with these events,” said Melissa Schmitz, Resiliency Coordinator for the city of Green Bay – a position created more than three years ago partly to come up with solutions for the city’s chronic flooding issues. “We’ve just grown so much as a city that we’re sort of now looking at what used to work, how did nature deal with high waters back then? We have floodplains for a reason.”
Schmitz says an early estimate for the Emilie Park project is $2.7 million.
“Cost factors into everything, but you have to look at all the benefits you’re getting with a big project,” said Schmitz. “We’ll get some flood reduction, we’ll get water quality improvement….better wildlife habitat for pollinators and birds and small animals.”
Schmitz says a reduction in future flood damages could be the biggest benefit.
Neighbors of the park say they’d like to see something done, but they have concerns.
“There could be some odor from algae blooms or dead fish, so we don’t want the smell,” said Wagner. “We don’t want our property values to go down.”
Bugs are another worry.
Plus, what will happen to the East River Trail and neighborhood access to it?
“If you can imagine bridges, boardwalk areas going over wetland areas and still increasing that access from the neighborhoods of the adjacent streets,” said Schmitz.
If the city council gives the green light to keep pursuing the project, Schmitz says securing funding would be the next step.
Schmitz says Van Beaver Park, on the opposite side of the river, is also being considered for converting traditional grass park space to wetlands for flood storage.
On the north side of Mason Street, Meyer Park is a smaller park along the East River being considered for a similar flood storage project, according to Schmitz.
City documents show Sullivan Park, Optimist Park, and Danz Park, along with the adjacent Baird Creek greenway, have also been considered for new flood storage sites.
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