We depend on the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to clean our wastewater before returning it to Lake Michigan. It’s a process we took for granted until we received an anonymous letter in 2023, alleging mismanagement by Veolia, the French company that has been contracted to maintain and operate the plants for the last 18 years. This whistleblower explained that our wastewater treatment plants are not running at capacity, causing millions of gallons of untreated wastewater to be dumped into Lake Michigan, our rivers, and our basements.

Further investigation, corroborated the whistleblowers’ assertions and uncovered reports of widespread, gross mismanagement at the plants: dangerous working conditions, lack of routine maintenance, “asset destruction,” falsified reports, understaffing, incompetence, a “toxic” work culture, and the wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.

We uncovered these serious allegations as the Commission which oversees MMSD is preparing to award a 10-year, $700 million maintenance and operations contract to one of two companies: Veolia or Jacobs Solutions. With the largest public-private wastewater treatment contract in North America at stake, both companies have hired lobbyists to help them get the contract.