Wauwatosa Ask Now: Will the stone walls of Schoonmacher Creek be repaired?

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Will the stone walls of the creek in Washington Highlands be repaired?

Issue:A reader asked us that question after observing that "a great deal of its stone wall has completely collapsed in the creek." The reader asked who is responsible for the repair and whether there is a plan.

Status: Residents of the Washington Highlands Homeowners Association are responsible for the condition of Schoonmaker Creek that runs through the neighborhood, said City Engineer Bill Wehrley. Homeowner association officials said there are no current plans to repair the creek wall, saying that flooding from the creek is the cause for the erosion.

Kelly Cordill, a Washington Highlands board member who chairs the parks and landscaping committee, said the association cannot afford to devote more financial resources to the creek wall until the underlying flood problem is corrected.

Brice Osinski, president of the homeowner's association, said plans to plant trees or do any landscaping along the creek have been put on hold.

"I know several homeowners who are very concerned who have driveways that cross that creek," Osinski said.

A plan to address Schoonmaker flooding may come out of a study being conducted by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District as part of a focus on the entire Menomonee River flood basin, which includes the Washington Highlands Schoonmaker Creek portion of the basin. Results of that study will be revealed to the public this summer.

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