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The Milwaukee Metro­politan Sewerage District (MMSD) provides water reclamation and flood management services for approximately 1.1 million customers throughout the Milwaukee region. The agency serves 411 square miles that cover all or parts of six watersheds. The agency is run by a commission made up of 11 members, seven of which are appointed by the mayor of Milwaukee and require Common Council confirmation. 

MMSD handles water quality research, household hazardous waste collection, pharmaceutical collection, industrial waste monitoring, laboratory services, planning and engineering services. Its treatment processes produce Milorganite, an organic fertilizer that is popular with golf course superintendents and homeowners, according to the agency. 

This agency has a number of facilities under its jurisdiction:

• Jones Island Wastewater Treatment Plant – Established in 1925, this facility on Lake Michigan’s shoreline is where MMSD makes Milorganite. The agency says the treatment plant is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. 
• South Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant – Based on the lakefront in Oak Creek, Wis., this facility – which began operations in 1968 – sends biosolids to anaerobic digesters where microorganisms convert most of the biosolids into methane gas. This gas is then collected and burned to produce electricity for the plant, the agency says. 
• Headquarters/Central Lab – The district employs more than 200 people at the MMSD headquarters and Central Lab buildings. The Central Lab is the largest wastewater treatment lab in the state of Wisconsin. Water quality experts monitor wastewater treatment plant operations, and the health of area rivers and Lake Michigan, the district says. 
• Flushing Station/Alterra Coffee – Once the only form of wastewater treatment in the area, it is now the home to a popular lakefront coffee shop. Built in 1888, this facility was used to pump millions of gallons of fresh Lake Michigan water into the Milwaukee River.

Along  with these facilities,  MMSD owns and operates about 300 miles of regional sewers that collect wastewater from 28 communities. All 28 communities own and operate their own sewers, for a total of 3,000 miles of pipes. 

The district’s Water Quality Protection Team is a group of specialized, scientific detectives that collect, monitor and track evidence for improving and protecting the region’s rivers, Lake Michigan and the watersheds in MMSD’s service area, the district says. This team collects more than 150,000 water samples a year and analyzes and investigates more than 1 million individual data measurements form waterways, water reclamation facilities and sewers. 

This team is made up of five working groups:

• Industrial Waste Pretreatment Group – Team members include industrial waste engineers who monitor and enforce point source pollution programs, including waste pretreatment, mercury reduction and household hazardous waste.
• Systems Monitoring/Conveyance Group – This group reviews, organizes, monitors and analyzes data generated from monitoring and sampling of the conveyance systems, groundwater and stormwater programs.
• Water Quality Research Group – Limnologists and water resource specialists who sample, monitor, analyze and report on the water quality in local watersheds, the company says.
• Field Monitoring Group – This group includes monitoring technicians and specialists engaged in sample and data collection, monitoring and downloading data into databases.
• Central Laboratory Group – Scientific professionals, technicians, and chemists who analyze samples and report findings from the results.