The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) sought out ECT and our project partners to assess the viability of using efficient delivery models intended to deliver the nation’s largest Urban Reforestation and Wetland Restoration (RWR) program. The goal of the RWR Program is to plant six million trees and restore up to 4,000 acres of wetlands over the next 10 years.

Working under the umbrella of Resilient Infrastructure Sustainable Communities (RISC), ECT is leading a team comprised of The Delta Institute and the Insurance Information Institute on this initiative. To that end, ECT is assessing if and how public-private partnerships could lead the following benefits:

• improved risk sharing with a private partner
• delivery and cost surety for installation and maintenance of trees and wetlands
• maximized pricing efficiencies through economies of scale
• increased competition in the contractor marketplace
• quality-certified projects from a contracted third-party

ECT will also develop attractive alternative financing and capital options for MMSD. These capital sources could include area insurance companies as well as the private sector who may benefit from reduced flooding risk.

MMSD is a national leader in water management having initiated many forward-looking sustainability efforts over the last two decades; most notably they reduced sewer outflows to Lake Michigan from 50 per year in 1990 to just 2.3 in 2020.