By Graham Kilmer – Jun 8th, 2026 03:26 pm
Jones Island Reclamation Facility. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Commission voted Monday to approve an audit of the district’s private wastewater operator.
The audit comes less than six weeks after the community organization Common Ground launched a public campaign calling for an audit of Veolia Water Milwaukee, alleging the contractor is mismanaging the sewerage district’s two wastewater treatment facilities, Jones Island and South Shore,
Common Ground is working with more than two dozen whistleblowers, two of whom have come forward publicly. The group charges that Veolia is mismanaging and failing to maintain equipment at the plants, leading them to run under capacity and contributing to the risk of sewer overflows and basement backups.