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2025 Green Infrastructure Partnership Program Awards Announced

07/09/25 09:05:am

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Commission approved the award of $3.4 million to 11 successful applicants to MMSD's Green Infrastructure Partnership Program (GIPP). 

The GIPP offers incentive funding on a per-gallon-captured, reimbursement basis for green infrastructure strategies designed to capture and clean water where it falls. Applications are scored based on established criteria focused on the applicant’s ability and commitment to implement, maintain, and promote their project.  

When completed, these projects will provide over 4.2 million gallons of stormwater capacity.  These projects incorporate a wide variety of green infrastructure (GI) types designed to manage water where it falls, thereby helping to reduce the likelihood of sewer water backing up into basements or overflowing into our waterways.

Trinity Woods is a unique intergenerational housing community situated on the picturesque Mt. Mary University Campus. A combination of porous pavement, three large bioswales, and a wide variety of deep-rooted native plants help capture and soak up nearly 700,000 gallons of rainwater each time it rains, preventing it from running off into the local waterways and sewer system.

2025 Green Infrastructure Partnership Program Award Winners:

  1. Bayside – Lake Drive Green Infrastructure Improvements, submitted by The Shul Center, Schlitz-Audubon Nature Center, and Village of Bayside
  2. Grange Ave. Best Management Practices, submitted by City of Cudahy
  3. MPS Green Schools, Transforming Communities Collaboratively - Emerson School, submitted by Milwaukee Board of School Directors on behalf of MPS Emerson School
  4. MPS Green Schools, Transforming Communities Collaboratively - Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies, submitted by Milwaukee Board of School Directors on behalf of MPS Trowbridge School of Great Lakes Studies
  5. MPS Green Schools, Transforming Communities Collaboratively - Cass Street School, submitted by Milwaukee Board of School Directors on behalf of MPS Cass Street School
  6. MPS Green Schools, Transforming Communities Collaboratively - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, submitted by Milwaukee Board of School Directors on behalf of MPS Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School
  7. MPS Green Schools, Transforming Communities Collaboratively - Milwaukee French Immersion School, submitted by Milwaukee Board of School Directors on behalf of MPS Milwaukee French Immersion School
  8. Carmen High School of Science & Technology, submitted by Carmen Schools
  9. Milwaukee County Zoo Front Entrance Reconfiguration, submitted by Milwaukee County
  10. Fireside – Brown Deer, submitted by Sagewind Brown Deer, LLC
  11. Historic Patterson Place, submitted by Historic Patterson Place, LLC
  • Bioswale

    Bioswale

  • Porous Pavement

    Porous Pavement

  • Cistern

    Cistern

  • Green Roof

    Green Roof

  • Native Landscaping

    Native Landscaping

MMSD's Green Infrastructure Vision

Green infrastructure projects are consistent with MMSD's 2035 Vision and Strategic Objectives. Our long-range goal is to eliminate sewer overflows, improve water quality, and incorporate an overall triple-bottom-line sustainable approach to operations.  Projects funded through the GIPP support the implementation of the MMSD's Regional Green Infrastructure Plan (RGIP) (2013),​​​​​Urban Biodiversity Plan (2018), and Resilience Plan (2019). 

MMSD's investment in green infrastructure is to increase the implementation of innovative approaches to wet weather management that are cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Green infrastructure management approaches and technologies infiltrate, capture, and reuse stormwater to maintain, restore, or mimic nature by draining it into the ground to reduce water pollution.

Projects should seek to demonstrate a connection or relationship to the purpose and function of other MMSD flood management and green infrastructure efforts.