MMSD is a regional government agency that provides wastewater treatment and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area.

To help protect public health, Lake Michigan, and the drinking water supply for millions, the District utilizes two water reclamation facilities to clean all the wastewater for the region. The Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility is in the City of Milwaukee. The South Shore Water Reclamation Facility is in the City of Oak Creek.

It takes thousands of miles of sewer pipes to transport all the water that’s flushed or poured down the drains of homes and businesses, so it can be cleaned at one of the treatment plants and returned to Lake Michigan.

The pipe that moves water out of your home is called a lateral. It typically runs through your front yard and connects to the sanitary sewer system owned by your city or village out in the street. Sanitary sewers owned by cities and villages (about 3,000 miles) empty into MMSD’s regional sewers (about 300 miles) deeper in the ground.