The Menomonee River is a river in southeastern Wisconsin, United States. Originating in Germantown, Wisconsin, the river is long and flows east toward Milwaukee, where it joins the Milwaukee River and the Kinnickinnic River before emptying into Lake Michigan.
Named after the Menomonee (also spelled Menominee) Indians, the word was given to the Menomonee people by the Chippewa people, and in the Chippewa language literally means "rice eaters" referring to the abundant wild rice that once grew along its shores in the Menomonee Valley. A tributary of the Milwaukee River, it is the most industrialized within the Milwaukee River Basin.
The Menomonee River is long, and empties into Lake Michigan at Milwaukee. Not to be confused with longer rivers named after the same Indian tribe. With a watershed that covers approximately of urban landscape, it is home to a population of more than 336,670 people. This includes portions of Washington, Ozaukee, Waukesha, and Milwaukee counties. A large swath of the river has been heavily channelized and industrialized as it runs through the Menomonee Valley. This has become a primary source of pollution for the river.
Its estuary empties into Lake Michigan from the Milwaukee River near the Milwaukee harbor, along with the Kinnickinnic River to the south.