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MMSD and Veolia staff at Doors Open at Jones Island

About Us

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 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 highly regarded nationally as a 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 98.4%, since 1994, for capturing and cleaning wastewater from 28 communities in a 411 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.

2019 Awards and Honors
• GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
• GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
• ACEC Engineering Excellence State Finalist Award
• ACEC Engineering Excellence Best of State Award
• Mayor’s 2019 Design Award
• NACWA Peak Performance Award

Vision

MMSD envisions a healthier, cleaner, resilient region.

Mission

MMSD protects public health and the environment through world-class, cost-effective water resource management, leadership, and partnership.

Commitment

Stewardship, Integrity, Quality, Collaboration, Diversity, Innovation

“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

Check out our Annual Report that highlights activities in 2020 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.

In 2017, MMSD created the Fresh Coast Resource Center (FCRC) to empower people, homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, and government to take an active role in protecting our most precious natural resource: water. By helping the 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 is here to assist the community by providing the inspiration, education, and tools needed to create successful green infrastructure projects such as:

Since 1926, the 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.

We have a vision by 2035 to significantly reduce our energy consumption to have 80 percent of our energy supplied from renewable sources. Milorganite is already using alternative energy sources such as solar, landfill gas, and digester methane in its production facilities to help achieve this goal.

MMSD Service Area

We serve 411 square miles that cover all, or segments of, six watersheds. Established by state law, the District is governed by 11 commissioners with taxing authority.

MMSD Serves these 28 communities in Wisconsin:

Bayside, Brookfield, Brown Deer, Butler, Caledonia, Cudahy, Elm Grove, Fox Point, Franklin, Germantown, Glendale, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners, Menomonee Falls, Menomonee River Hills, Mequon, Milwaukee, Muskego, New Berlin, Oak Creek, River Hills, Saint Francis, Shorewood, Thiensville, Wauwatosa, West Allis, West Milwaukee, and Whitefish Bay.

MMSD District Boundary and Combined Sewer Area Map

*Data for the Combined Sewer Area is provided by the City of Milwaukee and represents the best information currently available.