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2022 MMSD Annual Performance Report

03/28/23 04:15:pm

MESSAGE FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KEVIN SHAFER

I am pleased to present the 2022 Annual Performance Report detailing our yearly progress towards achieving the goals set out in the 2022-24 Strategic Plan, which translates our 2035 Vision into action.  I am proud of the work MMSD has accomplished over the past year and grateful for the committed staff that makes the work possible. 

We continued to take an integrated watershed management approach to respond and adapt to the greatest threat of our time, climate change. We know that few things are more important than identifying the risks and vulnerabilities to our critical wastewater infrastructure and adopting strategies to protect those facilities from the impacts of a changing climate. 

In 2022, we started thinking about new ways to meet our goals or scale up our operations.  For example, we expanded our Greenseams® program that permanently protects land with hydraulic soils upstream to cover 100 percent of the Milwaukee River watershed so that we can have an even bigger impact in preserving land. We launched our Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Program with the ambitious goal of planting 6 million trees and restoring or enhancing 4,000 acres of wetlands in ten years to help with stormwater management and increase biodiversity. 

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    Reforestation and Wetland Restoration Project plans to plant 6 million trees over ten years.

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    Electric Car Charging Station at MMSD HQ

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    Greenseams Hoy Property

We completed the construction of a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at our headquarters building to lead by example and increase the electric vehicle infrastructure in the region and promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  We revised our Comprehensive Environmental Management policy to encourage projects to seek energy reduction goals or carbon sequestration goals in the project development stage.  We partnered with local organizations to further climate science and increase opportunities for local students to participate in environmental education activities.  We also worked to increase our community engagement and promote environmental justice in our work. 

We know that we cannot go it alone in combating climate change and that to build community resilience, we must work as a region.  We are grateful for our partnerships that increase engagement and inform our actions.  I encourage you to read on, and as always, I welcome your feedback.

Be Safe.  Be Understanding.  Be Kind.

Kevin L. Shafer, P.E.
Executive Director - Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District