MMSD to begin putting fencing around Kinnickinnic River drainage canal

By WISN Staff

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    MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Crews will install fencing around the Kinnickinnic River drainage canal where three people lost their lives this summer.

A 10-year old boy was swept away by the fast-moving water in June trying to retrieve a ball.

His father and a neighbor tried to save him but also drowned.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District plans to put up four miles of fencing along the concrete-lined waterway, along with signs, telling people to keep away.

“The concrete channels were installed in the 1960s to reduce flooding by moving water away from homes and businesses as quickly as possible,” MMSD Public Information Manager Bill Graffin said in a news release. “Rushing water in the channels can move at up to 20 feet per second with a force of 400 to 500 pounds of pressure, making it very difficult to get out of the water.

“Plans call for removing the concrete, which will make the waterways safer by slowing down peak flows. However, concrete removal is expected to take more than 10 years and hundreds of millions of dollars,” Graffin said.

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