Local advocacy group Common Ground is calling for an independent, third-party audit of Veolia, the company that holds the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's contract to run the MMSD's two wastewater treatment plants. Common Ground believes the wastewater that’s treated and returned to Lake Michigan is not being treated properly.
On Thursday evening, a whistleblower made public his allegations that the sewage system is being mismanaged by Veolia. Steve Jacquardt addressed a meeting of Common Ground members, saying his concern for Lake Michigan and the health of the community compelled him to speak out about Veolia’s performance. “The decision to go public with information showing the mismanagement of our sewage system has been a tough and emotional one for me,” he says.
Jacquardt was MMSD’s intergovernmental coordinator from 1994 to 2023. He echoed Common Ground's call for an audit of Veolia. "I keep thinking about the safety of the many thousands of people who enjoy our beaches and waterways. I think about how we get our drinking water from Lake Michigan,” he says.
Veolia has managed the Jones Island and South Shore facilities since 2008. MMSD’s board of commissioners is deliberating whether to renew Veolia’s contract for another decade.
Common Ground has been around for nearly two decades. It represents diverse organizations including congregations and neighborhood groups from around the city. On Thursday, about 275 members filled the War Memorial Hall along Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan shore for the meeting where they heard from Jacquardt.
He says MMSD’s wastewater treatment plants aren’t being maintained to operate at full capacity, which means the water being returned to Lake Michigan contains higher levels of bacteria. And when storms strike, there’s an increased risk of sewage overflows and basement backups.
“The last overflow that we had was 2.7 billion gallons. During that storm, South Shore wastewater treatment plant in Oak Creek was only running at 83% capacity. That was just the peak capacity. It was below that for a lot of that storm. The MMSD spokesperson said that on public radio. What was also reported in the Journal Sentinel during that overflow lasted 112 hours. That’s more than four and a half days,” Jacquardt says.
People who attended the Common Ground meeting signed letters calling for a third-party audit of Veolia’s management. Common Ground plans to deliver them to MMSD Commission Chair Corey Zetts. Zetts issued a statement after the Common Ground meeting. It says, in part:
"If there was any credible evidence of mismanagement of billions of dollars of our public infrastructure, the company would not be on the short list for another 10-year contract. The Commission is committed to continuing the contract procurement process in a fair, transparent, and balanced manner to best serve our water quality, community, and the tax payers. During the years in question, MMSD and Veolia captured and cleaned the following percentages of water and wastewater:"
In a statement Thursday night, MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer said, "I’m very disappointed to learn my former coworker, Steve Jacquart, has made these accusations. Especially 10 years later and in the final weeks of the procurement for the next company to operate and maintain the regional wastewater system. Steve never said anything like this to me until I read it today. He was our Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator which is a position that had nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the wastewater system. His only knowledge would come from hearsay." Shafer continued, "MMSD has not seen any of the documentation to support the claims from Common Ground that information was withheld from MMSD’s Commission. MMSD is an open book. We do not hide issues from our Commissioners or the public. Of course, MMSD is willing to perform a 3rd party review, but we first need to better understand the specific accusations being made against Veolia."
Veolia, meanwhile, issued this response to the Common Ground gathering:
"Common Ground’s event this evening featured a mix of false, unsubstantiated and overstated claims about Veolia, which Common Ground admitted during the event they could not verify. Veolia has treated hundreds of billions of gallons of wastewater in Milwaukee since 2008, maintaining a 99.95% permit compliance rate for effluent quality while consistently outperforming state mandates and stricter MMSD contract standards. While Common Ground pushes misinformation, Veolia’s hundreds of employees continue working around the clock in partnership with MMSD to protect public health and our waterways."
Two additional whistleblowers came forward during the Common Ground meeting, saying they also have information to share about Veolia's performance.
_
