Unitarian Universalist Church West

River Cleanup

The Milwaukee Riverkeeper's 2011 annual Spring River Cleanup will be held on a Saturday in April 16th. See the Milwaukee Riverkeeper web page for more information. Pete Overholt will be coordinating this year's Cleanup for us. This event has always had strong volunteer support from UUCW. Watch for sign up information.

Cistern Project

In 2009 UUCW received a grant to acquire a 305 gallon water cistern used to retain roof runoff water. This retention cistern holds back water from a rain storm delaying it in entering the Underwood Creek and the watershed, reducing flooding. Learn more about this project in our informational flyer.  More roof water runoff initiatives are contemplated this year.

Medicine Disposal

Disposal of excess medications in landfills or flushing them down the toilet has negative consequences. Southeast Wisconsin now holds a number of Medicine Disposal events. One is planned for Saturday, May 14th, probably in Brookfield. UUCW  will have an opportunity to provide volunteers. Watch for specific information.

Water Efficient Toilets

In 2009 UUCW upgraded its toilets to save12,000 gallons of pure drinking water per Year. We now have 3 new toilets in the downstairs bathrooms, model Cimarron Class Six, and 3 new toilets in the main floor bathrooms, flushometer-type Highline models. These 6 new toilets reduce the amount of water used per flush from 3.5 gallons to 1.28 gallons. This means that every 100 flushes saves 222 gallons of purified drinking water (yes, think about it, we use pure drinking water to flush toilets)! The toilets in the church probably get flushed at least 100 times/week, especially with the pre-school renters, which means that 1,000 gallons of water every month, or 12,000 gallons of purified water per year, will now be saved!

UUCW was able to obtain these toilets for free thanks to the generosity of the Kohler Company and thanks to member Rob Zimmerman who negotiated this bonanza for UUCW.  A $400 mini-grant obtained by the Earth Ministry committee from the Milwaukee River Basin Partnership and the Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust (MRBP-SWWT) was used to help pay for a licensed plumber to do some of the more complicated installation work.  This same organization provided grant money for the water cistern located on the SW corner of the church, so keep your eyes open for other grants that UUCW may be able to take advantage of - you never know where it may lead!

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