MMSD Commission Votes to Select Jacobs Solutions for New 10-Year Operations and Maintenance Contract

09/28/26 10:30:am

(Milwaukee, WI) – Concluding a comprehensive two-year public procurement process, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Commission today voted to select Jacobs Solutions as the next private company to operate and maintain Milwaukee’s regional wastewater facilities.

The Commission’s decision is the result of a thorough and transparent process that has been underway since 2024.

Last month, an Ad Hoc Committee responsible for reviewing and scoring the provided proposals advanced a recommendation to accept Jacobs’ bid. The committee scored Jacobs’ bid higher in three of four categories, noting a $54 million lower cost over the life of the 10-year contract. In a public meeting earlier this month, Commissioners deliberated on their upcoming decision for more than three hours, asking questions of the Ad Hoc Committee, MMSD staff and representatives from Jacobs.

“Effectively managing metropolitan Milwaukee’s wastewater infrastructure is a vital service that impacts the everyday lives of residents across our region,” MMSD Commission Chair Corey Zetts said. “We thank everyone who contributed to this process over the past two years and thank our colleagues at Veolia North America for their partnership since 2008. As the Ad Hoc Committee determined, both bidders were qualified. Our responsibility as a Commission was to review objective evaluations, ask pointed questions, and ultimately select the best proposal for the people and communities we serve.”

With this decision, MMSD staff will enter negotiations to finalize a new operations and maintenance contract with Jacobs, which will take effect once MMSD’s current contract with Veolia North America ends February 29, 2028. While MMSD has agreed to wait to sign a new contract until a legal challenge from Veolia has been resolved, MMSD is able to negotiate the terms of the contract and begin various transition items.

The proposals from Jacobs and current operator Veolia North America, the Ad Hoc Committee’s evaluation of both proposals, and background information on the procurement process have all been shared publicly.

A Request for Qualifications was issued in June 2024 to identify firms with the experience and capacity to perform plant operations and maintenance across MMSD’s regional wastewater facilities. A Request for Proposals was issued on September 30, 2025. Veolia and Jacobs were the two providers who submitted proposals by the January 31, 2026, deadline.

The Ad Hoc Committee that evaluated both bids was comprised of five former Commissioners with a collective 57 years of experience on the Commission. No member of current MMSD leadership served on the committee. The Ad Hoc Committee followed a defined scoring matrix to evaluate the proposals submitted by each provider:

• Price: 60% of total score
• Approach: 25% of total score
• Staffing, training, corporate culture, and workforce development: 10% of total score
• Regional partnership: 5% of total score

The Ad Hoc Committee gave Jacobs’ proposal an overall score of 96.8 and scored Veolia’s proposal at 84.9, advancing their findings to the Commission for a final decision. The Commission carefully considered both proposals and the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations and sought validation on the proposals’ pricing, subcontracting, software, and other commitments before arriving at its recommendation of Jacobs today.

Separately from the procurement process, the Commission has ordered an independent, third-party audit of recent complaints regarding the performance of wastewater management in Milwaukee. The Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation and the Commission’s decision are based only on the specific criteria established at the beginning of the procurement process two years ago and the proposals provided by each participant. Findings from the audit, which are expected in October, will inform final contract terms and provisions. As there are no findings yet, the audit played no role in the selection process for the operations and maintenance contractor.

 

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