City of Greenfield, WI

Project Description

The Honey Creek Headwaters and Stream Restoration Project Area includes a 0.92-mile segment of Honey Creek located within the City of Greenfield’s most utilized community park – Konkel Park. The Creek is a tributary to the Menomonee River within the Lake Michigan Basin. The headwaters area of Honey Creek was not actually a defined stream; it was originally a diverse marsh complex. It was channelized to facilitate drainage. Later, sections downstream were lined with concrete, or encapsulated. As a result, invasive plant species, particularly cattails and reed canary grass, now choke and restrict flow in the main channel. Sediment buildup is severe, blocking flow and trapping debris.

The Honey Creek Headwaters Stream Restoration project will restore about six acres of the creek and riparian zone. The restoration and access improvements will include over 1.5 acres of stream bed and aquatic restoration, over 5 acres of floodplain habitat restoration, a low-flow meandering stream will be added along a boardwalk and trail, and a naturalized flood storage pond to improve water quality.

To help pay for these improvements the City of Greenfield worked with R/M to apply for and receive over $650,000 in funding for this project so far, which is about 30% of the overall project costs. These grants focused on five critical areas of project design and construction completion of design plans, water quality and stream characterization, permitting, public outreach and community engagement, and construction. Those opportunities included the following:

  • Sustain Our Great Lakes (SOGL) - $225,000

  • Wisconsin Coastal Management - $50,000

  • Fund for Lake Michigan - $150,000

  • WDNR Surface Water Planning Grant - $10,000

The City of Greenfield has been assisted by various Project Partners and funders to provide technical guidance and input, assistance with outreach, and funding or in-kind volunteer support. Some of Project Partners include:

  • MMSD

  • SEWRPC

  • WDNR

  • Riverkeeper / Water Action Volunteers

  • Sweetwater Trust (Sweet)

  • Friends of Greenfield Parks and Recreation

The Honey Creek Headwaters and Stream Restoration Project moves forwards with bidding in January 2022 and construction starting in March 2022. The project will allow for Honey Creek to be revitalized within the park area with flooding taken into account.

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