The Milwaukee RiverFlushing Station

A National HistoricMechanical Engineering Landmark

Milwaukee, WisconsinNovember 15, 1992

River Flushing Station is an example ofengineering ingenuity that has stood thetest of time.

In the late 1800's, Milwaukee found itself with avery serious problem, delicately referred to as"the river nuisance." At that time, all of thecity's sewers emptied directly into the MilwaukeeRiver. With Milwaukee's burgeoning population,the natural flow of the river wasn't strongenough to keep it clean, and the result was astagnant and smelly waterway.

City officials decided the quickest and mostpractical solution would be to somehow flush theriver with fresh water on a daily basis. Thisengineering feat was accomplished in 1888, withthe pioneering design of the Milwaukee RiverFlushing Station.

The station took huge volumes of water fromLake Michigan and pumped it into theMilwaukee River by means of an undergroundtunnel. A spectacular 500 million gallons werepumped each day, making Milwaukee's thelargest water pump in the world at that time.

The flushing station still serves the samepurpose today as it did more than a century ago.From May until October, lake water is pumpedinto the river to curb the effects of modernday pollution.

Milwaukee's lakefront looking north from the flushing station in 1891.The railroad tracks now serve as a bike path through the city's east side.Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society

Cover Photo: The Milwaukee River Flushing Station,1701 North Lincoln Memorial Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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ocated in the heart of Milwaukee'slakefront, across the street from

McKinley Marina, the Milwaukee

Historic Concern For Clean WaterStill A Vital Part Of MMSD MissionA Message From Executive Director Ralph Hollmon

he Milwaukee MetropolitanSewerage District is proud to

accept the historic designation of theMilwaukee River Flushing Station by theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers. Thishonor says much about the circumstances thatnot only brought about MMSD’s existence, butwhich define who we are today, as we head intothe 21st century.

Back in 1888, the flushing station was built as ashort term solution to a serious pollutionproblem, the dumping of raw sewage directlyinto the Milwaukee River. City plannersrecognized the need to build a network of sewersto intercept the waste from homes andbusinesses, delivering it to wastewater treatmentfacilities for cleansing before it was returned toLake Michigan. But they also recognized that theplanning, approval and financing of thisinterceptor system would take decades, so theflushing station was built to alleviate thepollution problem in the interim.

The Milwaukee River Flushing Station isindicative of MMSD’s historic commitment totackling difficult engineering problems in orderto curb pollution and preserve Milwaukee’squality of life. Just as clean water andenvironmental protection were vital issues in1888, they remain a driving force behind theMilwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District today.

Ralph Hollmon

“It is the most important publicimprovement made since thebuilding of the waterworks.”Mayor Thomas H. BrownSeptember, 1888

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Engineering BreakthroughPumps New Life Into River

he thought of an open sewage canalrunning through the heart of a city

is unappealing, to say the least. Yet,that was the situation faced by the City ofMilwaukee in the late 19th century. The city’ssewers had been constructed to empty directlyinto the Milwaukee River. The flow of the riverwas enough to dilute the sewage and cleanse itnaturally, at first.

But by 1886, the city’s population had swelled tonearly 200,000 and the Milwaukee River hadbecome not only an eyesore, but a public healththreat. Building a new sewer system to interceptand treat raw sewage would solve the problemlong-range, but something needed to bedone immediately.

A Milwaukee engineer working for E. P. Allis &Company came up with the plan to flush theriver with fresh water from Lake Michigan viaan underground tunnel. In 1887, EdwinReynolds’ unique screw pump design wonapproval, although many in the engineeringcommunity scoffed at it, and the digging began.

The flushing tunnel, 12 feet in diameter,extended 2,534 feet from the pumphouse sitebeneath East Kane Place to the river. Most ofthe excavated soil was used to expand theLake Michigan shoreline, creating additionalland for docking coal boats which wouldsupply the pumphouse.

Within a year, Reynolds’ critics were turned intobelievers. On September 14, 1888, the steamengines were fired up and within 13 minuteslake water began pouring into the pollutedriver. In a short while, the upstream current wasreversed and black sludge began to movedownstream. One day and 500 million gallonslater, the river had returned to its naturalcolor and transparency. The noxious fumeshad dissipated.

The Reynolds’ screw pump was the largestwater pump in the world at the time. A coal-fired steam engine drove the pump, whichconsisted of a 4 bladed propeller-type screw 14feet in diameter. The blades could move anastonishing 41,764 cubic feet of water perminute. In 24-hours of operation, the pumpvirtually replaced the entire volume of water inthe river from the North Avenue dam to theMilwaukee harbor.

In the late 19th century, the flushing station played an importantrole, protecting Milwaukee waterways for public-recreation.Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society

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The Cream City brick flushing station consistedof two rooms, the largest housing 4 horizontaltubular boilers for the steam engine, and theother housing the pump

In 1912, the steam engine was replaced with a350 horsepower electric motor. A year later, themotor was rewound to deliver 450 horsepower,and it is this motor which is still in use today.

In 1955, ownership of the flushing station wastransferred to the Milwaukee SewerageCommission. The ink was barely dry on the salewhen the station’s long history of trouble-freeoperation ran aground. Backflow from the rivercarried a giant tree stump into the pumphouse.When the wood hit the whirring impeller, twoof its blades were damaged beyond repair.

With its remaining two blades, the pump wasput back in business, but its effectiveness wasgreatly reduced. In 1985, the SewerageCommission decided to restore the pump to itsoriginal capacity. A new 4-bladed impellerreplaced the damaged one, and the pump wasrestored and automated.

In 1988, the exterior of this late-Victorian,romanesque-revival structure underwent its ownrenovation. The masonry was cleaned and theroof, windows and doors were all replaced inaccordance with historic preservation guidelines.

More than a century after it was built, theMilwaukee River Flushing Station still serves thecity well. Operational from late spring to earlyfall, this pioneering landmark improves waterquality, boosts dissolved oxygen levels for fishand wildlife, and subtly enhances Milwaukee’squality of life.

Swimmers enjoyed the expanded shoreline at McKinley Beach, made possiblethrough the excavation of the Milwaukee River Flushing Station tunnel.Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society

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Edwin Reynolds (1831-1909)

dwin Reynolds earned his mark inengineering history with his design

Edwin Reynolds

“Through the ingenuity ofEdwin Reynolds came pumpdesigns previously unheardof and which much of theengineering communityscorned until Reynoldsand Allis proved theywere right.”The Allis Chalmers Story

of a screw pump for the MilwaukeeRiver Flushing Station. While some of thegreatest engineers in the country condemned hisplans for flushing the river, Reynolds persisted.

One skeptical alderman who vowed to “drink allthe water that engine will throw” had to swallowhis words. The Reynold’s pump, built by E.P.Allis & Company, proved true to its inventor’spromise, pouring more than 500 million gallonsof lake water into the river every 24-hours.

Reynolds designed the flushing station pump asgeneral superintendent of the Edward P. AllisCompany. He served as president of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineersin 1902.

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At 126 feet, the flushing station's brick smokestack was a prominent featurealong Milwaukee's lakefront for many years. It was removed after thepump's power supply was converted from coal to electricity in 1912.Photo Courtesy of the Milwaukee County Historical Society

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Historic Contract

n December, 1887, the largest contractin the City of Milwaukee’s history was

granted to build the flushing tunnel.For $114,000, Milwaukeean William Forrestalcompleted the brick lined tunnel which extendedfrom the intake slip at the lakefront to theMilwaukee River below East Kane Place.

The excavation was no easy task. Cave-ins andfoul air were a major problem and the length ofthe tunnel, combined with a diameter of only12-feet, made working conditions difficult. Then,just one-third of the way through the project,Forrestal’s crew hit hardpan, or very dense soilconditions, that required the use of dynamite.Despite the obstacles, the work was completedin just 8 months.

The Milwaukee River FlushingPump, designed by EdwinReynolds and manufactured

by the E.P. Allis Company,astounded skeptics with its

ability to pump more than500 million gallons of watereach day. This pump had the

highest pumping capacity ofany single machine in the

world at the time of itsinstallation in 1888.

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Propeller Wheelfor

Milwoukee Flushing Engine.

Specifications

Lifting Gear for 12' Gatesfor

Milwaukee Flushing Engine

Flushing tunnel length 2,534 feetFlushing tunnel average depth 95 feet undergroundFlushing tunnel diameter 12 feetPump impeller diameter 14 feetPump capacity 525,000,000 gallons/day

Power1888 vertical compound steam engine 350 horsepower1912 3-phase, 440 volt electric engine 450 horsepower

Normal Operating Conditions53 revolutions per minute788 cubic feet of water per revolution41,764 cubic feet of water pumped per minute

Cost $273,774.22

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NATIONAL HISTORICMECHANICAL ENGINEERING LANDMARK

MILWAUKEE RIVER FLUSHING PUMP1888

THIS PUMP, DESIGNED BY EDWINREYNOLDS (1831-1909) AND BUILT BY

THE EDWARD P. ALLIS COMPANY, IS THEMAJOR COMPONENT OF ONE OF THEEARLIEST WATER POLLUTION CONTROL

SYSTEMS. IT WAS CAPABLE OF PUMPINGMORE THAN A HALF BILLION GALLONS

OF WATER A DAY, THE HIGHESTCAPACITY PUMP IN THE WORLD WHENINSTALLED. IT STILL IS USED DURINGTHE SUMMER TO PUMP WATER FROM

LAKE MICHIGAN INTO THE MILWAUKEERIVER UPSTREAM OF THE DOWNTOWNAREA. THIS MAINTAINS A CURRENT INTHE LOWER PORTION OF THE RIVER

AND GREATLY REDUCES THECONCENTRATION OF POLLUTANTS.

The American Society ofMechanical Engineers

1992

Designation As Landmark

he Milwaukee River FlushingStation is the 106th National

Historic Mechanical EngineeringLandmark to be designated. Since the ASMEHistoric Mechanical Engineering RecognitionProgram began in 1971, 154 Historic MechanicalEngineering Landmarks, 6 MechanicalEngineering Heritage Sites, and 4 MechanicalEngineering Heritage Collections have beenrecognized. Each reflects its influence on society,either in its immediate locale, nationwide, orthroughout the world.

An ASME landmark represents a progressivestep in the evolution of mechanical engineering.Site designations note an event or developmentof clear historical importance to mechanicalengineers. Collections mark the contributionsof a number of objects with special signifi-cance to the historical development ofmechanical engineering.

The ASME Historic Mechanical EngineeringRecognition Program illuminates ourtechnological heritage and serves to encouragethe preservation of the physical remains ofhistorically important works. It provides anannotated roster for engineers, students,educators, historians, and travelers. It helpsestablish persistent reminders of where we havebeen and where we are going along thedivergent paths of discovery.

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The History And Heritage ProgramOf The ASME

he ASME History and HeritageRecognition Program began in

September 1971. To implement andachieve its goals, ASME formed a History andHeritage Committee, initially composed ofmechanical engineers, historians of technology,and curator (emeritus) of mechanical engineeringat the Smithsonian Institution. The Committeeprovides a public service by examining, noting,recording, and acknowledging mechanicalengineering achievements of particularsignificance. The History and HeritageCommittee is part of the ASME Council onPublic Affairs and Board on Public Information.For further information please contact PublicInformation, American Society of MechanicalEngineers, 345 East 47 Street, New York, NY10017-2392, 212-705-7740.

The History and Heritage Committee of ASME

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Joseph A. Falcon, P.E., President

Mark A. Hartsaw, Vice President, Region VI

Gerald J. Moyar, P.E., History and Heritage,Region VI

Thomas D. Pestorius, Senior Vice President,Council on Public Affairs

Lorraine A. Kincaid, Vice President,Board on Public Information

David L. Belden, Executive Director

Arthur W. Ebeling, Director,Midwest Regional Office

The ASME Milwaukee Section

Euan F.C. Somerscales, Chair

Robert M. Vogel, Secretary

Robert B. Gaither

R. Michael Hunt, P.E.

James L. Lee, P.E.

John H. Lienhard

Joseph van Overveen, P.E.

William J. Warren, P.E.

Richard S. Hartenberg, P.E., Emeritus

Carron Garvin-Donohue, Staff Liaison

Diane Kaylor, Public Information

Keith R. Butterfield, P.E., Chair

Duane A. Filtz, Vice Chair

Gopal P. Ananth, Treasurer

Kenneth W. Derra, Secretary

Herbert W. Jerke, History and Heritage

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MMSD Executive Director

Ralph Hollmon

MMSD Commissioners

Dennis M. Grzezinski, Chair

County Supervisor Susan Baldwin, Vice Chair

State Senator Brian Burke

Vance Coleman

James Elliott

State Representative Shirley Krug

Shelia I. Payton

Milwaukee Alderman Marvin Pratt

Gerald Schwerm

Glendale Mayor Don Voith

St. Francis Mayor Milton Vretenar

Presentation ceremony arrangementsby Steve McKay and Tom Fehring.

Brochure written by Gael Garbarino.

Art direction by Starr Pentek-Schuetz.

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92183-1-5HH9208

mmSDThe Clean Water People