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About the Committees

Get Involved

Committee Projects

Committee Members

Science and Policy Advisory Committees

Sweet Water operates two open committees with membership driven by interest and expertise. Committee meetings are held on a regular basis and are led by the committee coordinators who delegate work and align committee interests with that of Sweet Water as a whole. Committee work serves the organization by:

• Ensuring a wide range of interests are considered in all discussion/decisions

• Focusing on specific science and policy issues relevant to watershed objectives

• Identifying problems and proposing recommendations

• Reporting developing issues and their impact

Get Involved

Get involved by joining a committee and/or by joining our next meeting!

Join A Committee

If you are interested in joining either the Science or Policy Committee, fill out this form and we will get back to you.

Join Our Next Virtual Meeting

Date TBD

Information about our next meeting coming soon!

Click the event for more information

Have you missed any of our 2021 or 2022 Meetings? Check out the recordings below:

February 2022 Meeting Agenda

• “Continuous optical sensors for estimating human- and fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations and sewage content in the Menomonee River, Wisconsin” -- Steven Corsi and Pete Lenaker, USGS

• “Nine Key Element Plan Update” -- Sweet Water Staff

NO RECORDING AVAILABLE

June 2021 Meeting

• “Early Detection of Covid using Wastewater”. Dr. Sandra McLellan; UWM School of Freshwater Sciences

• “Stormwater Regulations” Jake Zimmerman & Melissa Yarrington; WDNR

September 2021 Meeting

• “What’s for dinner? How invasive species have re-wired the Lake Michigan food web.” Harvey Bootsma PhD, UWM SFS

• “The Wisconsin Water Agenda: a new paradigm for water that could protect our health and the environment." Bill Davis, River Alliance of WI

• “Repetitive flood losses: how to reduce the risk of occurrence." Eleanor Rappolee, NOAA Digital Coast Fellow/ ASFPM

March 2021 Meeting

• Legislation and progress toward state-wide High PAH & Coal Tar Sealants regulations Ezra Meyer; Clean WI

• Floodplain Management Challenges in the future”.  David Fowler; Association of State Floodplain Managers

Committee Projects

Check out some of our past and current projects below!

PAH and Coal Tar Sealant Research

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found in tar-based pavement sealants. The SWWT Science Committee found that these pavement sealants are a primary source of toxic PAH pollution in urban areas due to their tendency to weather over time, allowing pollutants to be transported with stormwater runoff. PAHs are carcinogenic and harmful to human health and aquatic life. The efforts of the working group culminated in a white paper, linked below.

Bacteria Source Pollution Research

The SWWT Science Committee formed a Bacteria Work Group in response to impairments in the region’s waterways due to fecal bacteria pollution and the newly drafted TMDLs for the Milwaukee River Basin. The efforts of this group have culminated in a white paper that serves as a starting point when beginning to identify fecal bacteria sources and/or evaluate measures to control waterborne fecal bacteria contamination. This paper is linked below.

Watershed Playbook Workshop Recordings & Reports

Sweet Water is developing Watershed Playbooks for implementing plans and projects in the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds. The Science & Policy Advisory Committees provided guidance for developing this tool over the course of four workshops held in 2020.

Access reports and recordings from three of these sessions below!

Developing a Watershed Playbook - Facilitation

Advising MMSD’s 2050 Facilities Plan

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is undertaking a comprehensive facilities plan to meet the District’s water management needs through 2050.

In addition to conducting a public survey to obtain feedback and an assessment of District level of service from residents, MMSD staff have continued to present 2050 Facilities Plan updates to the Science and Policy Committees.

To see the results of this public involvement report for the 2050 Facilities Plan, please follow the link below.

List of Committee Members

Science Committee Members

Policy Committee Members

• Badger Meter Inc.

• Beth Foy & Associates, LLC

• Brandon Koltz Water & Enviro Consulting, LLC

• Burns & McDonnell

• Cardno

• City of Racine Health Dept.

• Clean Wisconsin

• Fund for Lake Michigan

• GRAEF

• Great Lakes Ecological Services/UWM Field Station

• GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc.

• Harbor District

• HNTB Corporation

• Jacobs (formerly ch2m)

• Kapur & Associates, Inc.

• Marquette University

• Melching Water Solutions

• Milwaukee County

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

• Milwaukee Riverkeeper

• Montgomery Assoc. Resource Solutions

• Oneida Total Integrated Enterprises (OTIE)

• ReFlo Sustainable Water Solutions, LLC

• Root-Pike WIN

• Ruekert & Mielke

• SE Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

• Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers

• Stony Point Hydrology, LLC

• Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC

• Strand Associates, Inc.

• Tetra Tech

• TRC Solutions

• TRSear Engineering

• United States Geological Survey

• University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (UWM)

• UWM- post doctoral research fellow

• UWM School of Freshwater Sciences

• UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning

• Veolia

• Water 365

• WEC Energy Group-Business Services

• Wellntel

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)

• WDNR Lakeshore State Park

• WDNR Southern Water District

• Wisconsin Lutheran College

• American Bird Conservancy

• Beth Foy & Associates, LLC

• Burns & McDonnell

• City of Milwaukee

• City of Milwaukee Office of Environmental Sustainability

• Clean Wisconsin

• Foley & Lardner

• Fund for Lake Michigan

• GRAEF

• Great Lakes Watershed Opportunities

• Harbor District

• HNTB Corporation

• Joyce Foundation

• KMS Law & Consulting

• Landscapes of Place, LLC

• Law Office of Dennis M. Grzezinski

• Milwaukee County

• Milwaukee Governor's Office

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

• Milwaukee Riverkeeper

• Milwaukee Water Commons

• NAACP

• Ozaukee County Land & Water Management Department

• River Revitalization Foundation

• Root-Pike WIN

• Ruekert & Mielke

• Sand County Foundation

• Siepmann Reality

• SE Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

• Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers

• Stafford Rosenbaum LLP

• Stormwater Solutions Engineering, LLC

• The Mandel Group, Inc.

• UWM School of Freshwater Sciences (SFS)

• UWM / SFS Center for Water Policy

• UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning

• Village of Elm Grove

• Walnut Way Conservation Corporation

• Washington County

• WE Energies

• WI Sea Grant at UWM SFS

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)

• WDNR Southern Water District