Domestic Projects
NOTE: contact Alison Sanders (apsanders [at] wisc [dot] edu) or Dave Tengler (djtengler [at] wisc [dot] edu for interest in Domestic Projects. John Kenney is no longer the manager of this group.
EWB-UW's newest collaborative project partners with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
The first goal of this project is to aid the Tribe in its efforts to provide
affordable housing by assisting in the design of sewer and water infrastructure
to 59 lots in presently-undeveloped northern half of a relatively new
on-reservation subdivision. About 6,500 ft. of gravity sewer and water
lines along with 4,000 ft. of force main were professionally designed and
installed in the southern half of the development over the past five
years. Substantial redesigns and cost overruns have dogged the project,
partly due to the unsuccessful involvement of a volunteer organization
in construction during 2004-5. With limited design-construct dollars
available, the Tribe hopes EWB can help to contain cost and accelerate
development on an additional 6,600 ft. of sewer and water line to be sited
along proposed roadways.
The project will involve coordinating with BIA Roads
Engineers and Indian Health Service sanitation facilities engineers to provide
construction plans and cost estimates for all or a portion of utility
expansion, roadway construction, and stormwater facilities in the north phase
of the project. Our students have confirmed the assistance of
volunteers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the Indian Health Service
(IHS). While visiting the communities the UW-Madison team hopes to devote
much of the time to community meetings and events as this is a small initial
project relative to future projects which the community has proposed involving
clean-up of the marina area.
A second goal of the project is to address significant
flooding and property damage and water quality degradation that has occurred in
existing developments in Red Cliff. In 2006 a mid-summer storm caused
over $100,000 in stormwater flooding damage to 25 public housing units on
New Housing Road,
some of which could have been averted with proper drainage plans.
Likewise, few of the Reservation’s developed areas have retention/detention
facilities to protect excess sediment from being discharged to nearby Lake Superior. EWB would provide
conceptual stormwater plans compliant with stormwater run-off and water quality
control design requirements of EPA’s NPDES.
The
UW-Madison chapter has been contacted by the Red Cliff community requesting these
projects and remains in good contact with the community’s Tribal Planner, Tim
Funk. We hope to expand our list of contacts and knowledge about the community
over the summer.
Some of EWB-UW's past domestic projects include:
- Restoration work at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona, WI
- Hurricane Relief work in Beaumont, TX and New Orleans, LA
