Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

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.

During periods of intense rainfall, stormwater increases the amount of water sent to our wastewater treatment facilities. One inch of rain on MMSD's service equals 7.1 billion gallons of water. Below is the current capacity of our water reclamation facilities and deep tunnel. When too much rain gets into the sanitary sewer system, preventing sewage from backing up into your basement is our highest priority, and may result in a sewer overflow (on average two times per year). If there is a sewer overflow, we will update the sewer overflow page to keep you informed.

The bugs we use for cleaning wastewater are actually famous! When they're done doing their jobs in the water reclamation facilities, we dry them out and turn them into Milorganite®, a fertilizer trusted by lawn and gardening experts for more than 90 years. You can even see Milorganite® in the movie Caddyshack. The production of Milorganite® is one of the nation's oldest and largest recycling efforts. We've safely recycled the nutrient-rich microbes into a goof-proof fertilizer that works wonders for lawns, gardens, flowers trees and shrubs.