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The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for over 1 million people in 29 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area.
Protecting public health and the drinking water supply for millions of people takes the expertise of hundreds of specially skilled and dedicated employees.
MMSD is a national leader in wastewater treatment, flood management, and green infrastructure.
A recipient of the U.S. Water Prize and many other awards, we are most proud of our record of 98.6% since 1994 for capturing and cleaning wastewater from 29 communities in a 423-square-mile area. Many metropolitan areas struggle to capture and clean the national goal of 85% of all the rain and wastewater that enters their sewer systems.
MMSD envisions a healthier, cleaner, resilient region.
MMSD protects public health and the environment through world-class, cost-effective water resource management, leadership, and partnership.
Stewardship, Integrity, Quality, Collaboration, Diversity, Innovation
MMSD does not discriminate in its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other legally protected status. Upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals.
“Our climate is changing, and we need to change with it. Increasingly intense storms in our region make sewer overflows and flooding bigger threats. Incremental steps taken now will help us reduce these risks in the future.
While water flows downhill, adapting to climate change is a serious uphill battle. Nevertheless, if each of us takes steps to manage rainwater where it falls, we can reduce the risk of basement and street flooding and the amount of water that leaks into our sanitary systems causing sewer overflows.
You can help! Install a rain barrel or build a rain garden. These green infrastructure improvements or just reducing the water we use each day will help us adapt.”
Kevin L. Shafer, P.E. Executive Director - MMSD
View our Annual Report and Strategic Plan highlighting activities to meet our community's needs, regulatory obligations, and contributions towards achieving our 2035 Vision of a healthier Milwaukee region and a cleaner Lake Michigan.
2024 Awards and Honors
Sustainability is a rich part of MMSD's history, integral to present-day operations, and critical to our future. Our focus began with water reclamation and resource recovery, but our mission has evolved to encompass many overlapping facets of environmental and public health.
Operating the regional sewerage system requires significant energy. As stewards of the environment and public resources, MMSD is committed to increasing energy efficiency and increasing our use of renewable energy. MMSD’s renewable energy efforts include capturing methane gas from digesters at the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility and using landfill gas and solar panels to generate electricity at Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility.
In 2017, MMSD created the Fresh Coast Resource Center (FCRC) to empower homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, and the government to take an active role in protecting our most precious natural resource: water. By helping our community to protect our rivers and Lake Michigan, we work to achieve our goal of capturing the first 0.5 inches of rainfall in our service area. This helps keep excess water out of our sewers which helps prevent sewer overflows and reduce runoff pollution.
The FCRC assists the community by providing inspiration, funding opportunities, education, and tools to create successful green infrastructure strategies such as installing rain barrels, rain gardens, porous pavement, bioswales, green roofs, and natural landscaping.
Since 1926, MMSD has safely recycled the nutrient-rich microbes resulting from the water reclamation process into Milorganite® slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. The production of Milorganite® fertilizer is one of the nation’s oldest recycling efforts. The revenue from Milorganite® helps reduce user charge billing increases to MMSD’s service area. Golf course professionals and homeowners have trusted Milorganite®'s consistent, long-lasting results on their lawns and landscapes for over 95 years!
We serve 423 square miles that cover all, or segments of, six watersheds. Established by state law, MMSD is governed by eleven commissioners with taxing authority.
MMSD Serves twenty-nine communities in Wisconsin:
Bayside, Brookfield, Brown Deer, Butler, Caledonia, Cudahy, Elm Grove, Fox Point, Franklin, Germantown, Glendale, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners, Menomonee Falls, River Hills, Mequon, Milwaukee, Muskego, New Berlin, Oak Creek, Richfield, River Hills, Saint Francis, Shorewood, Thiensville, Wauwatosa, West Allis, West Milwaukee, and Whitefish Bay.
*Data for the Combined Sewer Area is provided by the City of Milwaukee and represents the best information currently available.
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