UWM professors Jim Wasley and David Garman collaborate on a fountain that will test new technologies for improving water quality in Milwaukee’s Inner Harbor.

A fountain and green space at the Greenfield Avenue and First Street intersection will beautify the neighborhood while serving as an experiment in green infrastructure.

The project, to be completed in October, includes a 30,000-gallon, underground cistern and four reflecting pools flanked by planter boxes. In a technique called “forced wetland,” recirculating water will spill into the fountain after being forced up through the roots of the plants. Plant filtration removes many contaminants from polluted urban runoff, which often contains substances such as gasoline, fertilizers and harmful microbes from pet waste.

Read more at UWM report