MILWAUKEE — New Testament Church is helping to curb flooding in partnership with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).
Dinah Gant is an engineering consultant, who helped guide New Testament Church through the sale of 36 acres of its land to MMSD.
This is so the church can be a part of MMSD’s Green Seams Program, which aims to prevent future flooding and water pollution. The land is now called the Trinity Sanctuary and it will never be developed.
“It allows the water to soak in to also naturally cleanse itself and to eventually run off at a slower pace,” said Gant.
Gant said the church also entered the Fresh Coast Protective Partnership with MMSD to construct a wetland with two ponds.
“It was a way of utilizing their property, here at New Testament Church, to do what MMSD needed to do for the benefit of the community,” said Gant.
Rick Norris is an engineer and an elder at New Testament Church. He said the new wetland will absorb water before it would flow out to the nearby Little Menomonee River.
Norris said this will reduce flooding issues during intense rains.
“After a 24-hour event, the water settles down,” said Norris.
The New Testament Church Academy said this also opens the door to introducing STEM career opportunities to its students.
“We taught the children about water testing, pollutants in the water, exposing them to taking care of the environment, planting trees,” said Renee Johnson, New Testament Church Academy director.
For Executive Pastor Arnold Cifax, it’s about being good stewards.
“We want to find a way of being able to merge this along with how we treat people, how we treat the people around this area and hopefully give them an example of how God not only looks out for people but he looks out for the land as well,” said Cifax.
Gant said she had always pushed for this land to never be developed.
“These are woods here that they can get to nature and understand how peaceful things can be when things around you are just falling apart,” said Gant.
Thanks to the church participating in the partnership, she said she hopes this space will be available in the future for anybody that needs it.