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, director of the Center for Water Policy, says cities on the Great Lakes such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland will have to adapt to the extreme highs and lows caused by climate change.

She was featured on CBS Nightly News talking about how more intense storms are causing flooding and and raising concerns about drinking water contamination in cities on the shores of the Great Lakes.

The annual celebration of Love Our Great Lakes Day in Port Washington, Wis., on October 10 will feature presentations from Dan Egan, journalist in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Water Policy, and Paul J. Roebber, 51���� Innovative Weather Atmospheric Sciences/School of Freshwater Sciences.

Presentations will be made via Zoom from 10 a.m. to noon to make the shared information accessible to a wider audience. Afternoon activities from 1 to 4 p.m. will be predominantly outdoors in Port Washington and include guided field site visits of restoration work at Mineral Springs Creek and Birchwood Hills, a bird hike through Coal Dock Park led by Observatory staff, music by the Green Sails, tours through the Heart of the Harbor and the Port Washington Exploreum and more.

For more information and to register, visit:

Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences, talked with W51���� environmental reporter Susan Bence about the vision she lays out in a new book called

The book provides a blueprint for creating sustainable businesses, emphasizing the power and potential of cooperative models.

The Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences has hired its first postdoc water policy specialists: Misbah Husain and Sarah Martinez. Both are Sea Grant UW Water Science-Policy Fellows.

During their year-long appointments, Husain and Martinez will work with the Center’s research teams and interact with the public and private sector to inform policy making. The position is designed to immerse emerging professionals in the dynamic world of applied research for multidisciplinary water policy solutions.

“We’re excited to build our research capacity and to mentor two new water professionals who will make an impact on water policy,” said Melissa Scanlan, director for the center and the Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair and Professor in Water Policy.

Husain obtained his bachelor’s degree in environmental toxicology from UC-Davis and graduated from Boston College Law School with his juris doctorate and master of social work. At Boston College, he was selected to teach the undergraduate course in environmental law. He also participated in the BC Civil Rights Clinic, where he co-authored an amicus brief to submit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the case Smith v. City of Boston. The brief challenged the Boston Police Department’s use of a racially discriminatory police lieutenants’ examination, asserting that increased racial diversity in police leadership is necessary to reduce police violence inflicted on minorities. Husain also interned with the Cambridge Mental Health Court. He is excited to utilize the full array of his knowledge and experiences to promote equity, sustainability and well-being among the Great Lakes’ communities.

Martinez holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Utah in environmental studies and international studies. She is also a graduate of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law where she chaired her Student Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee and held leadership positions in several student organizations, including serving as president of the Natural Resources Law Forum. Martinez completed clinical work with Utah Law’s Justice Lab Clinic and was awarded the David T. Lewis Experiential Award for Excellence in a Clinic. She externed with Clyde, Snow & Sessions’ Natural Resources Working Group, where she focused on water law and water banking projects. She has interned with the ACLU of Utah and Utah’s Indigent Defense Commission. She is excited to begin her legal career at the Center for Water Policy and hopes to pursue more work tailored to environmental justice.

Melissa Scanlan, director of the Center for Water Policy, will moderate an online panel on water equity at the Crain’s Forum on August. 26.

Achieving water equity across the Great Lakes has been an auspicious goal. Water mismanagement together with climate change and political stasis have combined to make equity efforts even more challenging. The panel looks at the latest ambitions to protect the vital resource while making sure all are treated fairly in those efforts.

Crain’s Forum discussions bring together thought leaders to discuss the critical issues affecting the city and state, as well as local economy. 

Register .

On Sept. 14, the Environmental Law & Policy Center is hosting an online discussion with Dan Egan, Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at 51����’s Center for Water Policy.

Egan will discuss the impact climate change has on the Great Lakes and the ways in which we can restore them for the next generation. ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner will moderate.

Register here:

Chicago seems relatively well positioned: far from the oceans, relatively northern, and built on a massive fresh water source. However, below the surface, the climate crisis is threatening—literally and figuratively—the very foundations that the city was built on.  And it’s a battle being fought between the Great Lake, and the Great City.

The 21st spoke to author Dan Egan about the impending climate crisis facing Chicago and what that means for Illinoisans across the state. July 27, 2021.

Climate change is pushing Great lakes water levels to new extremes. Wisconsin Public Radio talks with environmental journalist Dan Egan about what this could mean for lakefront cities like Chicago and smaller cities here in the state.

here.

Dan Egan talked tourism, water levels and how climate change threatens Chicago on the Door County Pulse podcast.

here.

Dan Egan, Brico Fund Journalist in Residence at 51����’s Center for Water Policy, talks with NBCLX about how Chicago floods could worsen due to climate change.

You can watch the here.