MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District ad hoc committee is recommending Dallas-based Jacobs Solutions receive a ten-year contract to run the city’s water treatment system over Veolia North America, which has done the work since 2008.
If offered to Jacobs, the new contract set to begin in 2028 would be just the fourth company to handle MMSD’s operations since the private model began in 1998.
“We appreciate the confidence MMSD placed in us and we look forward to next steps,” said a Jacobs spokesperson in a statement to WTMJ August 17.
While the process which began with a Request for Proposals in 2024 had unfolded quietly for the first roughly two years, tensions have escalated in 2026 as advocacy group Common Ground has levied allegations of mismanagement at Veolia over its operations of wastewater treatment facilities Jones Island and South Shore, accusations Veolia has repeatedly denied. In July, Veolia sent Common Ground a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action over the group’s allegations.
A representative for Veolia said the company was “surprised” by the committee’s recommendation but that the news did not constitute a final decision.
Common Ground asked MMSD to delay its contract bidding process pending the results of a a third-party audit of Veolia’s operations led by St. Paul, Minnesota-based utility consulting firm EMA Inc.
The committee came to their decision by way of a scoring system comparing the two bids, with 60% of the total score weighted on the price. In a statement, the committee noted that the Jacobs bid “was $54 million lower over the life of the new contract”. Considerations were also given for the pitched approach to managing the system, how each bid would handle staffing, training, corporate culture and workforce development, and how each bid would best maintain a regional partnership.
In the end, the Jacobs proposal scored a 96.8, compared to Veolia’s 84.9.
“Effective wastewater management is an essential service for people in our region, and we thank both Veolia and Jacobs for their detailed and thoughtful proposals,” said committee chair and former MMSD commissioner Dennis Grzezinksi. “While our fact-based scoring system ultimately led to our recommendation in favor of the bid submitted by Jacobs, it also should be noted that Veolia has delivered strong results for residents of the Milwaukee area since 2008.”
The committee insisted their decision was based solely on the content of the bids submitted in 2024, and not on potential findings of the EMA audit.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: MMSD approves independent audit of wastewater operations
The full MMSD Commission will decide who between Jacobs and Veolia will receive the contract offer in September after considering the recommendation of the ad hoc committee. The five-member advisory committee overseeing the independent audit is expected to report the results around the same time.
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