PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND THE WATERSHED APPROACH

This presentation will highlight how the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is implementing a wide-ranging public involvement and watershed education program in support of water resource planning and, specifically, a facilities plan. Such a program is necessary to successfully provide public input to traditional facilities planning throughout the process—not just at key milestones—and to ensure that public expectations more closely align with technical realities than in the past. The program is integrated with a larger effort to update the Regional Water Quality Management Plan, and includes extensive coordination with the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This paper is presented as a case study, and is not meant to be a technical analysis.MMSD is trying a new approach to facilities planning by involving the public to greater extents than ever before. That approach is called the watershed approach, and it is an approach recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for water resource planning. This presentation will explore the necessary and extensive public partnerships and public involvement being implemented as part of the MMSD's 2020 Facilities Plan. It will highlight lessons learned, and will make public involvement recommendations for other POTWs considering using the watershed approach for facilities planning.