Man-made waterfall removed to help fish swim freely in Milwaukee River
By Gino Recchia
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ESTABROOK PARK, Wisconsin (WISN) — What looks like a peaceful waterfall at Estabrook Park is actually a man-made barrier that has blocked fish for generations.
“We are removing some of the bedrock from Estabrook Falls to make the falls more supportive of migration for fish,” said Beth Wentzel with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
Wentzel said the waterfall was never natural. Instead, it was left behind more than a century ago when workers quarried the river for rock used in cement. Now it acts as a fish barrier.
“Fish need to move, especially there’s a number of fish that’s been part of their life down in Lake Michigan. But they need to get up into a river, to spawn, reproduce, and also to find food,” Wentzel said.
The project is funded through grants. Crews started work in July, lowering the bedrock on one side of the river while diverting water with sandbags. The project will leave a small waterfall on one side and a deeper channel for fish to swim through on the other.
The timeline for completion has been complicated by heavy August rains that delayed construction by several weeks. District officials say they have a permit through the end of September, and within the next week, they’ll know whether regulators will allow work to continue into October.
The timing matters because salmon are beginning their fall migration upstream, and anglers will soon crowd the riverbanks for the season.
“The Milwaukee River is a really special place for this community, and restoring it to a healthy river is really exciting,” Wentzel said.
This project could help lake sturgeon return to the Milwaukee River, a species that once thrived here generations ago but disappeared after dams and pollution wiped out their population.
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