Milwaukee Water Commons

09/03/2026

Heads up, Milwaukee!

WATER DROP💧 ALERT! (9/3/26)
More rain and storms are in the forecast. Every drop counts toward reducing the risk of basement backups and sewer overflows.

Please try to use less water:
⏸️ Hold off on washing dishes and laundry
🚿 Take shorter showers
🌧️ Empty your rain barrel

📱 Stay informed: Text WATERDROP to 414-296-4422 to sign up for alerts. Para español, envía GOTADEAGUA al 414-296-4422.

Check real-time water reclamation facility and deep tunnel volumes at 🔗 https://www.mmsd.com/about-us/weather-center

09/01/2026

What happens when a river moves beyond its banks and into the streets?

For Senior Director of Programs Felice Green, our 30-foot walking river at Milwaukee’s Juneteenth Day celebration carried much more than water. It carried memory, creativity, community along with a powerful message: water is freedom.

In a new reflection in the C. o lor of Water, Felice shares what it meant to walk alongside four generations of her family, hear people along the parade route call back “FREEDOM!” and watch a community-created work of art turn strangers into part of the water community.

“Art can help us understand something our heads already know but our hearts sometimes forget: water connects us all.”

Read Felice’s beautiful reflection on art, Juneteenth, belonging and the ways water and freedom continue to flow through our communities.

💧 Water is freedom.

https://buff.ly/Yv40Pk3

Water justice advocate Felice Green of Milwaukee Water Commons reflects on the significance of being part of the Walking River in the Juneteenth 2026 parade, highlighting the role of arts and culture to foster community connection to water.

08/28/2026

What does it mean to care for our waters — and for one another? 💧

Our latest newsletter looks back at the anniversary of Milwaukee’s devastating August flood and the community care that emerged in its aftermath — while asking what we need to do together before the next storm comes.

Also in this issue:
🌊 See how Water School is building knowledge and leadership that participants carry back to their communities.
💙 Look back at We Are Water, where joy, art and a living river brought people together at McKinley Beach.

Throughout it all runs a common thread: our waters connect us and caring for them is a shared responsibility.

Read the newsletter: https://buff.ly/LN97mBm

08/27/2026

📚 Help us fill our Little Free Library!

We’re looking for books for children and adults about water, nature, the environment, environmental justice, social justice and building stronger communities.

And we’d especially love children’s books! With a daycare center nearby, little readers and their families regularly pass by our library outside our office at 1836 W. Fond du Lac Ave.

Have a book on your shelf that fits the theme? Drop it off and give it a new reader.

Or add a new book to the shelves while supporting Niche Book Bar, a local Black-owned bookstore: Purchase a book online and have it sent our way: https://buff.ly/RTEbjuM

Every book can spark curiosity, start a conversation or help someone see our waters, our communities and one another in a new way.

Thanks for helping us keep the shelves stocked and good ideas circulating! 📖💧🌱

08/26/2026

💧 A steady stream of support can make a big splash.

When you become a monthly donor to Milwaukee Water Commons, you help sustain our work all year long, bringing people together to care for our waters, grow community leadership, advance water justice and make sure everyone has a voice in decisions that affect our shared waters.

Even a small gift each month adds up. And recurring donations give us something especially valuable: reliable support we can count on as we plan for the months ahead.

$5, $10, $20 or whatever amount works for you helps keep this work flowing.

Become a monthly donor today and be part of a community caring for water and one another. 💙



https://buff.ly/7E1PRDg

08/26/2026

"Tents" in the fall? No problem at all.
"Tents" in the spring? Now that's another thing.

08/25/2026

🌕 Paddle under the Sturgeon Moon! 🛶

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is offering a special way to experience the Milwaukee River as August’s Sturgeon Moon rises on Thursday.

Join an early evening paddle through downtown Milwaukee and hear the stories of lake sturgeon, from their deep social and spiritual connections to Indigenous communities to the work underway to restore a fish that was once plentiful in our waters.

The evening begins at Milwaukee Kayak Company before heading onto the river for a guided paddle filled with storytelling, culture, history and ecology.

And there’s something extra in the sky this year: the Sturgeon Moon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. 🌕✨

A beautiful way to spend an August evening on the water and learn more about the relationships that connect people, sturgeon and our shared waters.

Registration is required.

More information: https://buff.ly/9GY5r0S

Join Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Milwaukee Kayak Company for an evening of storytelling and learning about sturgeon as we paddle on the Milwaukee River!

08/25/2026

08/25/2026

Water moves through us -- in stories, memory, music and poetry. 💧

At Aquapoetics last month, local poets brought their voices to the water, sharing words that explored our relationships with water, place, community and one another.

Curated by Kavon Cortez Jones as part of his artist residency with Milwaukee Water Commons, the gathering brought together 10 local poets with The Garrett Waite Band responding to their words through music.

Aquapoetics created space to listen, reflect, connect and experience water through poetry and music.

Art Intersection MKE, an outdoor gallery and bioswale at 35th and Vliet, was the perfect venue for the beautiful summer evening.

Watch some of the moments from an evening where words, water, music and community flowed together. 💙

08/21/2026

We're still feeling the energy, joy and connection from We Are Water. 🌊💙

Hundreds of moments — a Living River flowing across McKinley Beach, the beat of the Milwaukee Hittaz: Drum Corp., art and music, kids in the sand, Purple Door Ice Cream, neighbors connecting and plenty of joy along the shore of Lake Michigan.

This video captures just a few of them.

Thank you to everyone who made the evening magical. We loved seeing so many people come together to celebrate our shared waters.

Were you there? Share your photos from We Are Water in the comments or tag Milwaukee Water Commons in your posts and stories. We’d love to see the evening through your eyes. 📸🌊

We're already dreaming of next year.