Wauwatosa is not celebrating St. Patrick's Day in August.
Underwood Creek is flowing green this week because crews are flooding storm sewers north of Watertown Plank Road with water dyed green, City Engineer Bill Wehrley said. The storm sewers drain to the creek.
A citizen sent photos Wednesday to the Journal Sentinel newsroom showing green water in the creek near Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and Serafino Square apartments in the 9900 block of North Ave. Ryan Bogenschneider asked if the neon green water in the stream was news.
The work has been going on for a few weeks, Wehrley said. The dyed water is used to simulate a heavy rain event to determine if storm water is entering municipal sanitary sewers.
A camera is placed in sanitary pipes and if green water shows up then Wehrley knows there is a leak that must be fixed, he said. Leaking sanitary sewers can fill quickly in heavy rains and cause sewage to backup into basements.
Here is a photo Bogenschneider submitted:
