The Water Council has formed a partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society to document the water initiative happening in Wisconsin, which they believe will shape the economic future for the state. It was decided that the significance of the water movement being spearheaded by The Water Council would one day be viewed as a part of Wisconsin’s history, and thus should be well documented now, while the individuals responsible for The Council are still around, and able to contribute to that process. “The Water Council idea is new, just a few years old, so the records are fresh. The people are still there, the people who created it, they have memories, records; so the idea was to do this now [rather than later],” said Ellsworth Brown, director, Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Wisconsin Historical Society will hire a historian to be housed in The Water Council’s office at the Global Water Center, recently opened in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood. This historian will link Society staff and resources in Madison with The Water Council, providing assistance and training with records management and archival documentation, as well as access to the extensive water-related research collections, including maps, images and primary sources that tell the story of the western Great Lakes and Wisconsin’s water sources. The Society and The Water Council have plans to partner in providing outreach and educational programming in the future.
“There is no question that water will be shaping the future, not only where people choose to live but where people do commerce,” said Dean Amhaus, president & CEO, The Water Council, “therefore, the importance of water in Milwaukee, and Wisconsin will take an even more significant role in shaping our future.”
Source: The Water Council, Wisconsin Historical Society