Current operator, French company Veolia, is competing with Dallas-based Jacobs for the contract.
By Graham Kilmer – Aug 18th, 2026 06:33 am
A committee of former sewerage district commissioners is recommending the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) change the private operator running its two wastewater plants.
The current operator, Veolia Water Milwaukee, is embroiled in a public battle over its handling of the district’s two water treatment plants: Jones Island and South Shore Water Reclamation Facilities. In April, the community organization Common Ground went public with allegations from anonymous whistleblowers that Veolia was intentionally mismanaging the sewage treatment plants to save money, causing the systems to run below capacity and increasing the risk of sewer overflows and basement backups.
Veolia has held the contract to run the facilities since 2008. It is one of two firms bidding on a new 10-year contract valued at approximately $700 million. The other firm is Jacobs, a Dallas-based engineering consultant with experience across multiple sectors including public infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.