2026 Presentation Abstracts

Building PRESERVE: Advancing Utility Collaboration and Resilience Across the Great Lakes

Rania Bashar, Moonshot Missions
Michael Mucha, Moonshot Missions

This session, led by Moonshot Missions, will share the PRESERVE Community of Practice’s experience and learnings from connecting municipal wastewater utilities, nonprofits, and state partners across the Great Lakes to strengthen collaboration and improve performance. Participants will hear how Moonshot designed, launched, and scaled PRESERVE—covering governance, facilitation, and peer-to-peer learning methods that build trust and momentum. The session will highlight lessons on aligning diverse stakeholders, integrating equity and funding strategies, and sustaining engagement. PRESERVE offers a replicable model for collaborative learning networks that empower utilities to address infrastructure challenges through shared knowledge and collective action.

Advancing Flood Resilience in Municipalities Across the Great Lakes Region

Bridget Brown, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

Flooding in the Great Lakes is expected to become more frequent and more extreme and municipalities are often on their own to manage the issue and finance solutions. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is a cost-effective solution to local flooding and stormwater management. This talk will highlight efforts the Cities Initiative is working on with its members in Wisconsin and across the region, including 1) design and implementation of GSI based on comprehensive community-wide geo-physical, social and economic analyses and priority site selection; and 2) policy and financing of GSI through state revolving loan funds (SRFs).

Infiltrate, Document, and Efficiently Maintain your Stormwater Infrastructure

Jake Brunoehler, PaveDrain

Stormwater management is a significant infrastructure expense—but how confident are you in your BMP’s actual performance? As Henry Ford once said, “The most expensive system ever sold is the one that does not work.” Why invest in maintenance if it’s not needed? This session explores how permeable systems, as part of Low Impact Development (LID), can reduce or even eliminate long-term stormwater infrastructure costs while minimizing environmental impact. We’ll highlight the INFIL-Tracker post-construction monitoring system and present a Wisconsin watershed case study demonstrating quantifiable stormwater capture using real-world data.

Wisconsin Stormwater Utility Fees and Credits - Ways to incentivize private stormwater facilities without breaking the bank

Rick Eilertson, AECOM

Rick will provide highlights of the Wisconsin Stormwater Utility Fee and Credit Database that he maintains through the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA WI). This includes rates and links to various credit policies for 123 stormwater utilities throughout Wisconsin. Rick will outline three (3) different examples of credit policies used in Wisconsin and lead an interactive discussion of the pros and cons of each policy, including how each credit policy serves to incentivize the inspection and maintenance of private stormwater infrastructure. Attendees will be able to take lessons learned back to their respective communities to consider enhancements that ensure private stormwater facility owners are doing their part without breaking the bank of the municipality.

Innovative Green Infrastructure Services and Funding

Will Kort, Delta Institute
Aaron Volkening, Stantec

Many communities are interested in Green Infrastructure (GI) to mitigate chronic or acute flooding and address TMDL and MS4 compliance. However, small- to mid-size municipalities often lack the necessary experience, resources, and capacity for successful GI implementation. Delta Institute, a Midwest environmental non-profit, along with key partners Stantec, Regiment Securities, and 389nm, offers an innovative platform to help communities overcome barriers. We have developed a fully integrated project delivery and financing service to help municipalities identify, plan, develop, implement, fund, and maintain GI projects to address flooding issues, and stormwater sediment and nutrient loads, as well as provide other environmental, social, and economic co-benefits. The program provides technical assistance, project management, and grant funding support, with optional low-cost financing, to facilitate and expand GI at all scales. Support options range from a comprehensive turn-key program to a range of targeted services that address specific community needs.

Grasslyn Manor’s Water Journey: From Helping Build the Ark to Knowing Where Our Water Goes

Alexis Laverdiere, Greenprint Partners
Rob Seleen, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works
Steve O'Connell, Community Organizer

Grasslyn Manor continues in its third year of investigating its water issues and finding solutions thanks to engaged residents, partners and the City. Learn about the successful pilot to advance a major solution in combating basement backups: the Private Property Infiltration & Inflow (PPII) Reduction Project. Following robust testing, eligible residents can receive grant-funded sump pumps, lateral replacements and downspout disconnections. Hear from City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works Flood Hazard Mitigation Manager Rob Seleen, Community Organizer Steve O’Connell, and Advisory Group members in this panel moderated by Greenprint Partners Senior Project Specialist Alexis Laverdiere. Project testimonials, artwork and videography by Michael Timm and Kelly VanZant.

Collaborating to Create a Resilient and Sustainable Valley Creek Corridor

Amy Lentz, Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership
Sarah Majerus, Stantec

The Valley Creek Corridor is a roughly 1.8-mile city-owned corridor in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Flooding, erosion, poor water quality and infrastructure vulnerabilities required the City to fully reimagine this space. LNRP and Stantec have worked in partnership with the City to undertake this $17 million project, with almost no cost to the City and tax payers. This project includes a robust community outreach strategy and a fully nature-based design. The proposed enhancements to municipal stormwater systems, along with the restoration of urban streams and riparian ecosystems, will deliver a comprehensive green infrastructure solution that also expands opportunities for community access and recreation in the City of Port Washington.

MS4 Audit Preparedness

Lexi Montes, Wisconsin DNR
Christy Poniewaz, Ruekert & Mielke, Inc.

Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) convey storm water runoff to surface water resources. Currently, 245 communities are regulated through MS4 permits, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The MS4 permits require documentation and implementation of six minimum control measures intended to reduce stormwater pollutants to the maximum extent practicable: Public Education & Outreach, Public Involvement & Participation, Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination, Construction Site Pollutant Control, Post-Construction Storm Water Management, and Pollution Prevention Programs. Christy Poniewaz with Ruekert Mielke will present on each of the permit program elements and best practices for audit preparedness (maintain programs, inspect facilities, outline procedures, conduct training, public involvement, etc.). Additionally, Lexi Montes with the WDNR will present on the MS4 Audit process from pre-audit, during the audit, and post-audit follow up to better prepare MS4 Permittees.

MMSD's Green Highways Program

Janee Pederson, HNTB
Andy Kaminski, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

MMSD’s Green Highways Program is an ongoing partnership between the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and the City of Milwaukee to install green infrastructure under and/or adjacent to freeway overpasses across MMSD’s service area. Highway runoff carries a variety of pollutants including heavy metals, oils, salt, and suspended solids. Through the Green Highways Program, innovative green infrastructure installations are engineered to capture, absorb, and store stormwater runoff redirected from highway downspouts before it drains, untreated, into the sewer system or into nearby rivers. Key benefits of the program include treatment and storage of the first inch of rainfall from impervious surfaces, improved water quality by reducing pollutants entering waterways, transformation of underutilized areas into community assets and the opportunity to provide environmental education. Projects have been completed at the Marquette Interchange, Becher Street, Mineral Street, and Port Milwaukee overpasses. Design is underway at the Holt Avenue Overpass and other areas are under consideration for future projects. MMSD and HNTB will provide an overview of the program and discuss specifics from planning to design, construction and continued maintenance of these projects.

Trees for Stormwater Management and Community Building

Emily Peters, Johnson's Nursey
Jamie Ferschinger, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Jacob Fincher, Sweet Water

Impervious surfaces in urban areas are the main cause for stormwater runoff which is a primary source of water pollution in cities. There are many forms of green infrastructure that can help alleviate run off, but one of the simplest ways to combat run off is by planting Trees. In this presentation, we will talk about trees as a stormwater management tool in Milwaukee, what are the best trees to plant for stormwater absorption, and highlight tree planting efforts that are currently happening in Milwaukee communities.

Regional IDDE Screening Results with Discussion Panel

Christy Poniewaz, Ruekert & Mielke, Inc.
Abby Hanson, Ruekert & Mielke, Inc.

The first part of the session is a presentation of multiple years of IDDE screening results for several MS4-permitted communities in the region (excluding bacteria). We will discuss the range of results through graphs and charts and how the results compare to guidance and requirements for MS4 permit compliance. This presentation will include discussions of where pollutants may originate when no identifiable sources or illicit discharges are found. The second part of the presentation will be a panel discussion aimed at increasing discourse between MS4 permittees and stakeholders throughout the watershed. The panel will include MS4 permittee representatives, as well as state and regulatory agency staff who specialize in areas such as storm water, contamination, monitoring, etc. (Note: The presented data will not include location or permittee-specific information.)

Urban Soil Health: Reversing the Legacy of Disturbed Compacted Urban Soils

Stu Schwartz, University of Maryland Baltimore County

Standard land development practices with cut-and-fill mass grading produce a pervasive legacy of disturbed compacted urban soil profiles that increase stormwater runoff and limit infiltration, root growth, and vegetation success, in the urban pervious landscape. This presentation describes means, methods, specifications, and stormwater credits that can reliably restore environmental services and institutionalize the cultivation of healthy urban soils as a superior sustainable best management practice. The pervasive legacy of disturbed compacted urban soil profiles represents a significant opportunity to improve hydrologic design and advance stormwater management by restoring hydrologic function to the urban pervious landscape

Surface Water Chloride Conditions and Trends in Southeastern Wisconsin

Thomas Slawski, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

This presentation will summarize the historical (1960s-present) and existing conditions and trends in chloride concentrations in surface water streams and lakes as part of the Commission’s Chloride Impact Study. This talk presents key findings of Technical Report No. 63, which goal was to determine the extent waterbodies in the study area have been impacted by chloride pollution and to what degree chloride conditions in these waterways are improving, becoming worse, or remaining stable. This information combined with classification data such as watershed size, percent composition of urban and rural land uses, and land use changes over time were included in this analysis.

Enhancing Green Infrastructure Performance: Peoria’s Proactive Inspection and Maintenance Program

Monica Vincent, Mead & Hunt

Proactive inspection and maintenance of green infrastructure (GI) is vital for sustaining performance and minimizing impacts that cause flooding or bypass flow. This presentation provides strategies for setting inspection schedules, maintenance triggers, and activity frequency, customized by GI asset type, sediment and debris load, and site conditions. Highlighting Peoria, IL’s transition to a proactive GI management program, it demonstrates how routine inspections and planned maintenance improve reliability, reduce reactive maintenance, and support efficient staff planning.

From Polluted to Protected: How Aquarius Systems, The Harbor District, and Sweetwater Support Healthy Waterways with a Novel Structural BMP

Nicholas Ward, D&D Products Inc., Aquarius Systems Division

From Polluted to Protected showcases the TrashVeyor, a new marine debris capture system designed to intercept floating debris before it travels downstream. Installed at strategic locations, the TrashVeyor automatically conveys trash from the water surface to a land-based dumpster, reducing manual labor, improving safety, and supporting cleaner waterways. Our local partners, Sweetwater and The Harbor District, were engaged to assist with public outreach, and to count, categorize, and analyze the captured debris. This presentation will highlight system design, field performance, and key findings, to demonstrate how combining reliable mechanical capture and data collection can help communities prioritize interventions, measure impact, protect aquatic environments, and inform the public.

Milwaukee's South Shore Beach Water Quality Numerical Modeling and Relocation Project

Mauricio Wesson, SmithGroup

Southshore Beach in Milwaukee was plagued by frequent high concentrations of E.coli. While it is understood that actual concentrations of E.coli are a culmination of a number of variables including point source(s), concentrations, and climatological conditions, advanced environmental numerical modeling considering advection, diffusion, and E.coli die-of rate provided the necessary insight into the relocation site and proposed structures to improve the water quality and reduce the number of days the beach would be closed. The relocation of the beach along with the improved circulation will reduce the number of beach closures creating a cleaner beach for the users of Milwaukee.