The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is a state-chartered government agency which provides wastewater services for 28 municipalities within Milwaukee County and also portions of the surrounding counties.
With headquarters and a central laboratory along the Menomonee River near downtown Milwaukee, it has two wastewater treatment plants which are located at Jones Island (43°01′23.5″N 87°53′58″W / 43.023194°N 87.89944°W / 43.023194; -87.89944) in Milwaukee and at the South Shore (42°53′16″N 87°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 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." The 1925 plant has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
During the past few years, sewage has been dumped into Lake Michigan either by accident or as a result of sewer overflow. By late March, 2006 the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District had accidentally dumped 800,000 gallons of sewage into Lake Michigan. The accidents occurred as workers at the Jones Island facility were testing a new computer operating system. Testing was done under the United Water contract.
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