MMSD dredged materials management facility and milwaukee skyline

Dredged Material Management Facility

Project Update

The Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF) construction is progressing! The west and south walls are being installed as you can see in the drone photo provided by Michels Construction. The contractor is installing the king piles (circular pipes) using a template that allows them to set the piles in a straight line. Once they have a portion of the king piles completed, they go back and install the sheet piles which completes the combination wall. You can see the sheet piles going in the west wall in the second photo. The king piles along the west and south walls are 4 and half feet (54 inches) in diameter and 60-feet long. When mother nature and the lake bed soil cooperates, the team can install 10 king piles in a single day. The project includes approximately 950 king piles!

Watch the October 2024 project update video.

West and South walls being installed.
Installing sheet piles.

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Project Overview

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is partnering with the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), We Energies, and Port Milwaukee to create a new Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF) in the Milwaukee harbor. When it is completed, this facility will provide safe, secure containment for 1.9 million cubic yards of sediment removed from the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers.

Over time, contaminated sediment has accumulated in the downstream portions of our rivers. The Milwaukee Estuary (the area where Milwaukee’s three rivers converge) was designated an Area of Concern (AOC) by the EPA in 1987 due to historical contamination. Since then, there have been ongoing efforts to clean up Milwaukee’s Estuary.

The existing Confined Disposal Facility located north of the Lake Express ferry dock is nearly at capacity and does not have available space for the sediment that will be removed from the rivers as part of the Milwaukee Estuary AOC Initiative. The new DMMF will provide the needed capacity for storage of this sediment.

The DMMF is a cost-effective approach that manages the contaminated sediment and protects both river and lake health. In addition to reducing the cost to remove and store the sediment, construction of the DMMF at the lakefront bypasses the negative environmental impacts of hauling the material to a new landfill. If the material was trucked to a landfill instead of to the DMMF, there would be increased truck traffic and the need for landfill expansion.

Once constructed, the DMMF will be owned and operated by the Port of Milwaukee.

The DMMF project is part of a larger initiative to clean up the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC). Learn more about the AOC by watching this John Gurda video or visiting the Waterway Restoration Partnership website.

Project Map

Partner List

Project Benefits

Safe containment for dredged contaminated sediment removed from the river beds
Improved fish and wildlife habitat
More cost-effective than hauling the material to an approved landfill

Project Timeline*

Fall 2021: Final Design Consultant Selected
Spring/ Summer 2022: 2^nd Public Information Meeting
Summer 2023: Project Bidding
Late 2023- Early 2024: Project Construction Begins
2026/2027: Construction Completion

*Timeline is subject to change

Get Involved / Stay Informed

Sign up to receive Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC) MMSD project updates in your inbox.
Participate in upcoming events. MMSD will conduct a number of stakeholder and public outreach activities throughout the entirety of the project to obtain project input and feedback.
Learn more about the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern (AOC) by visiting milwaukeeestuaryaoc.com and following AOC initiatives on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).