Water defines Milwaukee, whether it’s vast Lake Michigan to your east, the rivers and tributaries that feed it, landscaping features designed to absorb rain and runoff, or the underground pipes and chambers that manage storm and waste water. Fund for Lake Michigan invites you to use the Virtual Doors Open water passport to explore the relationship between Milwaukee’s water and the city’s industrial, commercial, civic, and residential development. See how Milwaukee responds to, accommodates, depends on, and features its liquid abundance.

 

New This Year: Water Scavenger Hunt

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Fund for Lake Michigan, we invite you to participate in the first ever annual Doors Open Water Scavenger Hunt!

Water Scavenger Hunt

The Doors Open Water Passport was made possible with support from the Fund for Lake Michigan.  Special thanks to Milwaukee Community Map for providing the mapping on this year's Water Passport. Learn more about Milwaukee Community Map.

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Water Passport Sites

Watershed Map

Adams Garden Park

Sat. Sept. 25

1836 W Fond du Lac Ave Milwaukee, WI 53205

Alice’s Garden Urban Farm

Sat. Sept. 25, Sun. Sept. 26

2136 N 21 St

Arts @ Large

Sat. Sept. 25
Vaccine or COVID Test Required

1100 S 5th St

Green Tech Station

Sat. Sept. 25

4101 N 31st St

Jones Island Aeration

Jones Island Water Reclamation Plant

Virtual Only

700 E Jones St

Milwaukee Community Sailing Center

Sat. Sept. 25, Sun. Sept. 26

1450 N Lincoln Memorial Dr

Milwaukee Water Works Facilities

Virtual Only

Milwaukee Water Works North Point Water Tower

Sat. Sept. 25

2288 N Lake Dr

Robert A. Anderson Lake Tower

Virtual Only

UWM School of Freshwater Sciences

Sat. Sept. 25

600 E Greenfield Ave

Featured Water Passport locations can be found on the watershed map below, or open in a new window for ease of viewing. The area of land that drains to a body of water is called a watershed. Milwaukee's three rivers are the Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the Kinnickinnic, each has its own watershed! Learn more about watersheds.

Green Roof Map

Open this map in a new window and zoom all the way in to see Google’s 3D view of selected Milwaukee green roofs hiding in plain sight. Green roofs are striking evidence of Milwaukee's Water Centric City commitment to green stormwater infrastructure—especially when seen from above. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of stormwater annually—if not millions—can be managed using the green roofs whose locations are identified here. Check out the Water Centric Cities video here.

Green Luminaries Map

A Green Luminary® helps protect our rivers and Lake Michigan by adopting practices that harvest rainfall for other uses or mimic nature by draining it into the ground to reduce water pollution. The Green Luminary® projects highlighted below are led by true champions who recognize not only the need to manage stormwater but also the need to innovate. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) gives Green Luminary® awards to businesses, organizations, and communities that implement exceptional green infrastructure design projects in the MMSD service area that benefit our lakes and rivers, as well as our communities. Click here to view map in a new window and view 40 project videos.