Strategies

The Winnebago Waterways Program engages with watershed residents in order to improve, protect and enjoy the lakes and tributaries within the Winnebago System.

The Northeast Wisconsin Stormwater Consortium (NEWSC) is a subsidiary of the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance and is made up of 41 permitted MS4 communities working together to meet and exceed Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources stormwater regulations.

With support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance created the Lower Fox River's strategic implementation plan to expand its reach into the agricultural sector.

The City of Milwaukee Water Works Department undertakes water quality monitoring activities that exceed state and federal requirements, including those under the U.S. EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule.

The city of Milwaukee coordinates with local stakeholders to provide multiple options for people to safely dispose of unwanted or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Great Lakes Water Authority has an internal goal of maintaining the phosphorus concentration of their effluent at 80 percent of the permit limit for their Water Resource Recovery Facility.

Great Lakes Water Authority partners with the University of Michigan and other Lake Erie stakeholders on several research and assessment projects aimed at better understanding and reducing phosphorus loading into the Detroit River from point sources within the city and nonpoint sources from the surrounding watershed.

Great Lakes Water Authority has developed voluntary Surface Water Intake Protection Plans (SWIPP) for three surface water intakes located in Lake Huron and the Detroit River.

The Great Lakes Water Authority has water quality sensing equipment located at two surface intakes in the Detroit River that contribute data to the Huron-to-Erie Real-time Drinking Water Protection Network.

The Detroit River is an international border between the U.S. and Canada and the location of two Great Lakes Water Authority surface intakes. Coordinating with Canadian environmental agencies is critical to ensuring that the intakes are protected from potential impacts to sources of drinking water coming from both sides of the border.

Great Lakes Water Authority has a system-wide emergency response plan as well as individual response plans for each of their facilities to ensure the prompt initiation of a targeted response in the event of a spill with the potential to impact source water.

In addition to meeting all safe drinking water act requirements, Great Lakes Water Authority carries out additional monitoring activities as part of federal programs and research initiatives, state-mandated programs, and voluntary actions.

Great Lakes Water Authority developed a mobile-access, geographic information systems (GIS)-based map that incorporates real-time operational data along its wastewater interceptors and at its rain gauges.

New York’s Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Initiative seeks to mitigate the threat of HABs to sources of drinking water in upstate New York through regional collaboration, advanced monitoring pilot projects,  and the development and implementation of community-specific action plans. 

The City of Ann Arbor Water Treatment Plant has taken voluntary steps to enhance the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from drinking water.