Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

Last updated
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Sewage treatment overview
Formed1982 (1982)
Jurisdiction Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Racine counties
Headquarters260 W. Seeboth Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Website mmsd.com
Main Headquarters Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.jpg
Main Headquarters

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. A recipient of the U.S. Water Prize [1] and many other awards, the District has a record of 98.4 percent, since 1994, for capturing and cleaning wastewater from 28 communities in a 411-square-mile (1,060 km2) area. The national goal is 85 percent of all the rain and wastewater that enters their sewer systems.

Contents

With headquarters and a central laboratory along the Menomonee River near downtown Milwaukee, it has two wastewater treatment plants: the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility, which is located at Jones Island ( 43°01′23.5″N87°53′58″W / 43.023194°N 87.89944°W / 43.023194; -87.89944 ) in Milwaukee, and a second facility at the South Shore ( 42°53′16″N87°50′44″W / 42.88778°N 87.84556°W / 42.88778; -87.84556 ) in Oak Creek. These facilities were operated by United Water under a 10-year agreement ending March 1, 2008. Veolia Water is the current operator.

"The world’s first large scale wastewater treatment plant was constructed on Jones Island, near the shore of Lake Michigan." [2] The primary wastewater treatment plant at Jones Island was one of the first of its kind when the original activated sludge plant was constructed in 1925. MMSD was the first to market biosolids created through this process as a fertilizer under the name "Milorganite." [3] [4] The Jones Island Plant was among the first sewage treatment plants in the United States to succeed in using the activated sludge treatment process. "It was the first treatment facility to economically dispose of the recovered sludge by producing an organic fertilizer." In the early 1980s the plant needed extensive reworking, "this does not detract from its historic significance as a pioneering facility in the field of pollution control technology." [4] It had the largest capacity of any plant in the world when constructed. [3] [5] Its present treatment capacity is 390 million gallons per day, but average flow was only 105 million gallons per day between 2015 and 2019. [6] The 1925 plant has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. [4] [7] [8] MMSD has maintained an inline storage system (ISS) based on tunnels to store and convey wet weather flows, including combined sewage, since 1994. The ISS tunnels have a total capacity of 400 million US gallons (1.5×109 L) and a combined length of over 20 miles (32 km). Since 1994, the ISS tunnels have prevented more than 37 billion US gallons (1.4×1011 L) of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) [9] and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from entering area waterways, including Lake Michigan. Between 1994 and 2000, CSOs decreased from 40 to 60 events per year to an average of 2.5 events per year (WDNR 2001).

MMSD Initiatives

Flood Management

Flooding and erosion of the watersheds in the greater Milwaukee area threaten public health and private property. Watersheds boundaries do not necessarily follow municipal boundaries, reducing the risk of flooding requires looking at the watershed as a whole, including the complete river system and its tributaries. The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has discretionary authority to maintain the watersheds in the Greater Milwaukee Area and authority to reduce the risk of flooding is in Wisconsin Statutes, Section 200.31(1). [10] In the past, work has included: rehabilitation and removal of concrete, removal of sediment and flow-impeding objects, and widening floodplains for flood management purposes.

Fresh Coast Guardians Resource Center - Green Infrastructure

The Fresh Coast Resource Center [11] (FCRC) helps southeastern Wisconsin improve the health of Lake Michigan through smart use of green infrastructure. The FCRC assists the community by providing the inspiration, education, and tools needed to create successful green infrastructure projects.

In 2017, MMSD opened the FCRC to empower people, homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, and government to take an active role in protecting the most precious natural resource: water. By helping the community to protect area rivers and Lake Michigan, [12] MMSD works to achieve its goal of capturing the first 0.5 inches (13 mm) of rainfall in its service area. By capturing the first 0.5 inches (13 mm) of rain, 740 million US gallons (2.8×109 L) of water will stay out of sewers, helping to prevent sewer overflows and reducing runoff pollution.

Combined Sewer Overflows

Diverting combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to waterways is an emergency measure to prevent sewage backups into basements when wastewater treatment facilities reach capacity. MMSD follows the 2014 State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Discharge Permit [13] for sewer overflows. CSOs are sewers that are designed to collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe. [14] When a CSO happens, they post it on their website and have 5 days to report it to the DNR. [15] According to scientists at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences, bacteria from CSO's only survive for up to 10 days due to the frigid temperatures of Lake Michigan. Combined sewer overflows are 90 to 95 percent stormwater and groundwater.

MMSD's CSOs are smaller than those of other cities on the Great Lakes, including Cleveland's and Detroit's, and are similar to those of the smaller city of Grand Rapids. [16] [17] Year-to-year CSOs vary depending on local rainfall but as a recent example in 2014 MMSD CSOs totaled 342 million US gallons (1.29×109 L), meaning that 99.5 percent of the total flow through the municipal sewer system was treated. [18] MMSD’s permit requires that CSOs be limited to no more than six overflows per year, consistent with the presumption approach in the CSO Control Policy.

Separating the sanitary and storm sewers would decrease the amount of water captured and treated; however, the amount of pollutants going into area rivers and Lake Michigan would increase. In urban areas with many impervious surfaces (buildings, parking lots, and streets), there is little opportunity for stormwater to be absorbed into green areas. Resulting in run off with a high degree of pollutants that would further erode water quality. [19]

Deep Tunnel

David Biello of Scientific American writes, "Since 1994, a more than 26-mile- (42-kilometer-) long tunnel has been keeping Milwaukee's sewage from spilling into Lake Michigan. This deep water tunnel—a holding tank on steroids—comprises two legs roughly 300 feet (90 meters) below ground that can hold nearly 500 million gallons (1.9 billion liters) of sewage and storm water during a downpour. And for the last 14 years it has kept 74 billion gallons (280 billion liters) of wastewater out of Lake Michigan, according to Bill Graffin, a spokesman for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District." [20]

The Deep Tunnel has prevented more than 125 billion US gallons (4.7×1011 L) [21] of pollution from getting into Lake Michigan. Thanks to the tunnel and many other improvements, MMSD has captured and cleaned 98.4 percent of all the stormwater and wastewater that's entered the regional sewer system since 1994. The goal nationally is to capture and clean 85 percent for the more than 700 cities with systems like Milwaukee's.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sewerage</span> Infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff using sewers

Sewerage is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screening chambers of the combined sewer or sanitary sewer. Sewerage ends at the entry to a sewage treatment plant or at the point of discharge into the environment. It is the system of pipes, chambers, manholes or inspection chamber, etc. that conveys the sewage or storm water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water pollution</span> Contamination of water bodies

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanitary sewer</span> Underground pipe for transporting sewage

A sanitary sewer is an underground pipe or tunnel system for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to a sewage treatment plant or disposal.

Sewage disposal regulation and administration describes the governance of sewage treatment and disposal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal</span> Canal system connecting the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers in Illinois

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is a 28-mile-long (45 km) canal system that connects the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River. It reverses the direction of the Main Stem and the South Branch of the Chicago River, which now flows out of Lake Michigan rather than into it. The related Calumet-Saganashkee Channel does the same for the Calumet River a short distance to the south, joining the Chicago canal about halfway along its route to the Des Plaines. The two provide the only navigation for ships between the Great Lakes Waterway and the Mississippi River system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milorganite</span> Brand of biosolids fertilizer produced by treating sewage sludge

Milorganite is a brand of biosolids fertilizer produced by treating sewage sludge by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The term is a portmanteau of the term Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen. The sewer system of the District collects municipal wastewater from the Milwaukee metropolitan area. After settling, wastewater is treated with microbes to break down organic matter at the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The byproduct sewage sludge is produced. This is heat-dried with hot air in the range of 900–1,200 °F (482–649 °C), which heats the sewage sludge to at least 176 °F (80 °C) to kill pathogens. The material is then pelletized and marketed throughout the United States under the name Milorganite. The result is recycling of the nitrogen and phosphorus from the waste-stream as fertilizer. The treated wastewater is discharged to Lake Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority</span> Water authority of Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority(DC Water) provides drinking water, sewage collection, and sewage treatment for Washington, D.C. The utility also provides wholesale wastewater treatment services to several adjoining municipalities in Maryland and Virginia, and maintains more than 9,000 public fire hydrants in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined sewer</span> Sewage collection system of pipes and tunnels designed to also collect surface runoff

A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets diluted, resulting in higher flowrates at the treatment site. Uncontaminated stormwater simply dilutes sewage, but runoff may dissolve or suspend virtually anything it contacts on roofs, streets, and storage yards. As rainfall travels over roofs and the ground, it may pick up various contaminants including soil particles and other sediment, heavy metals, organic compounds, animal waste, and oil and grease. Combined sewers may also receive dry weather drainage from landscape irrigation, construction dewatering, and washing buildings and sidewalks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunnel and Reservoir Plan</span> American civil engineering project

The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan is a large civil engineering project that aims to reduce flooding in the metropolitan Chicago area, and to reduce the harmful effects of flushing raw sewage into Lake Michigan by diverting storm water and sewage into temporary holding reservoirs. The megaproject is one of the largest civil engineering projects ever undertaken in terms of scope, cost and timeframe. Commissioned in the mid-1970s, the project is managed by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Completion of the system is not anticipated until 2029, but substantial portions of the system have already opened and are currently operational. Across 30 years of construction, over $3 billion has been spent on the project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First flush</span> Initial surface runoff of a rainstorm

First flush is the initial surface runoff of a rainstorm. During this phase, water pollution entering storm drains in areas with high proportions of impervious surfaces is typically more concentrated compared to the remainder of the storm. Consequently, these high concentrations of urban runoff result in high levels of pollutants discharged from storm sewers to surface waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago</span> Special-purpose district in Chicago, IL, USA

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply otherwise, it is not a part of the City of Chicago's local government but is created by Illinois state government with an elected Board of Commissioners. The MWRD's main purposes are the reclamation and treatment of wastewater and flood water abatement in Cook County to protect the health and safety of citizens and of area waterways. In 1900, the District notably reversed the flow of the Chicago River, and it is currently involved in the large multi-decade construction of the "Deep Tunnel," Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanitary sewer overflow</span> Discharge of untreated sewage

Sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) is a condition in which untreated sewage is discharged from a sanitary sewer into the environment prior to reaching sewage treatment facilities. When caused by rainfall it is also known as wet weather overflow. Causes of sanitary sewer overflows include: Blockage of sewer lines, infiltration/Inflow of excessive stormwater into sewer lines during heavy rainfall, malfunction of pumping station lifts or electrical power failure, broken sewer lines. Prevention of such overflow events involves regular maintenance and timely upgrades of infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant</span> Sewage treatment facility for Toronto, Canada

The Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant is the city of Toronto's main sewage treatment facility, and the second largest such plant in Canada after Montreal's Jean-R. Marcotte facility. One of four plants that service the city of Toronto, it treats the wastewater produced by some 1.4 million of the city's residents and has a rated capacity of 818,000 cubic metres per day. Until 1999 it was officially known as the Main Treatment Plant. The plant has a 185 m (607 ft) high smokestack which is visible from most parts of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Water Department</span>

The Philadelphia Water Department is the public water utility for the City of Philadelphia. PWD provides integrated potable water, wastewater, and stormwater services for Philadelphia and some communities in Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties. PWD is a municipal agency of the City of Philadelphia, and is seated in rented space at the Jefferson Tower in the Market East area of Center City, Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Side Big Pipe</span>

The East Side Big Pipe is a large sewer line and tunnel in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of a combined sewer system of pipes, sumps, drains, pumps, and other infrastructure that transports sewage and stormwater run-off to the city's Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant. The East Side Big Pipe project, begun in 2006 and finished in 2011, was the largest of a 20-year series of projects designed to nearly eliminate combined sewer overflows (CSO)s into the Willamette River and the Columbia Slough. The combined projects were completed on time, and they reduced CSOs into the river by 94 percent and into the slough by more than 99 percent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Water Authority</span>

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) is a regional water authority in the U.S. state of Michigan. It provides drinking water treatment, drinking water distribution, wastewater collection, and wastewater treatment services for the Southeast Michigan communities, including Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, among others. GLWA overlays a majority of the water and sewer assets which were formerly operated and maintained by the Detroit Water Sewer District (DWSD) prior to the bankruptcy of the City of Detroit, Michigan.

The Providence, Rhode Island Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement Program is a public works project in Rhode Island.

Ever since Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, it has faced multiple issues concerning water quality to accommodate its growing size, driven by the city's ideal geography and accessibility to one of the largest bodies of fresh water, the Great Lakes. The City of Chicago has implemented multiple proposals and plans such as the Master Drainage Plan and Tunnel and Reservoir Plan to combat the increasing water quality issue and move in a more environmentally friendly direction. These plans will construct spillways to temporarily store overfilling sewage or stormwater and clean it before releasing it. However, it wasn't until 2015 that Chicago began to treat sewage and stormwater runoff, thus finally shedding its title as the last major city not to treat its sewage before being discharged into its waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility</span> United States historic place

The Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility is a wastewater treatment plant located on Jones Island along the Lake Michigan shore in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back Cove South Storage Facility</span>

The Back Cove South Storage Facility will be the result of a large construction project begun in 2020 in the Back Cove neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Centered on Back Cove Park, between Preble Street to the southwest, Franklin Street to the northeast and Interstate 295 to the southeast, the project—a combined sewer and stormwater overflow —is estimated to cost $40 million, and is the city's largest such project to date. It is designed to reduce combined sewage overflow into both Back Cove and Portland's harbor by 40%. Currently, after heavy rainfall, storm water mixes with sewage and discharges into Casco Bay.

References

  1. ↑ "City of Milwaukee - US Water Prize".
  2. ↑ Stephens, Odin L.; Mengak, Michael T.; Osborn, David; Miller, Karl V. (March 2005). "Using Milorganite to temporarily repel white-tailed deer from food plots" (PDF). Wildlife Management Series. WSFR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-30.
  3. 1 2 Historic Documentation of the Jones Island West Plant (pdf) (Report). Milwaukee Water Pollution Abatement Program. 1982. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  4. 1 2 3 Merritt, Raymond H. (1982). "Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record . Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  5. ↑ Freese, Simon W., P.E.; Sizemore, Deborah Lightfoot. A Century in the Works: 100 Years of Progress in Civil and Environmental Engineering; Freese and Nichols Consulting Engineers 1894-1994 (PDF). p. 44. Retrieved April 2, 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "2021 Proposed Operations and Maintenance and Capital Budgets" (PDF). Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  7. ↑ American Society of Civil Engineers (August 13, 1974). "Regarding designation of the Jones Island plant as a national engineering landmark" (Press release).
  8. ↑ "Environmental Draft Impact Statement: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District; Water Pollution Abatement Program, No. E1S801072DB". Environmental Protection Agency. November 1980. p. V-100. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  9. ↑ "EPA Report to Congress Combined Sewer Overflows to the Lake Michigan Basin" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "Wisconsin State Legislature".
  11. ↑ "Fresh Coast Resource Center".
  12. ↑ Silver, Maayan. "Green Infrastructure Helps Manage Water In Milwaukee's Urban Landscape".
  13. ↑ "Wisconsin DNR Discharge Permit" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "What are Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)?". EPA. November 2017.
  15. ↑ Jordan, Ben. "MMSD dumps untreated sewage water into rivers, Lake Michigan".
  16. ↑ Dan Egan (November 30, 2006). "Milwaukee's not the worst — or best — lake polluter". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2013-06-28.
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-01-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ↑ Don Behm (January 5, 2015). "MMSD treated wastewater reaches nearly 100% in 2014". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  19. ↑ "Water Quality Initiative" (PDF).
  20. ↑ Biello, David. "Sewer Diving: A Journey Inside Milwaukee's Deep Water Tunnel".
  21. ↑ Brooke, Zach. "The City Known for 'Sewer Socialists' Actually Has Great Sewers".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.