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The Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District (GBMSD) receives wastewater from customers within a 237 square mile service area. The wastewater is treated at GBMSD's water reclamation facility.
On average, about 30 million gallons of wastewater are treated every day at GBMSD. The reclaimed, or cleaned water is discharged to the Fox River, close to where it empties into Green Bay.
As a producer of reclaimed water, we also consider our customers to include the many users of the waters of Green Bay. Those users include recreational, industrial, shipping and fish & wildlife too.
GBMSD also operates an Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program that collects water quality information about the Fox River and lower Green Bay. This program provides GBMSD and others with information about the effects of our discharge into these waters.
Water Reclamation Regulations
The reclaimed water that GBMSD discharges must meet high standards, as set by the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. EPA, so that the many uses of Green Bay waters are not adversely impacted. Under the regulations it is governed by, GBMSD must ensure that its discharge meets stringent requirements for may types of pollutants, including:
- oxygen-demanding substances (BOD)
- suspended solids
- phosphorus
- fecal coliforn bacteria
- chlorine
- ammonia
- mercury
- PCBs
- toxic substances
GBMSD has consistently received special recognition for having exceptional compliance in meeting the water quality requirements for the reclaimed water we discharge. We go further than just meeting such requirements though, as the quality of our cleaned water is routinely 90% better than required.
Data from GBMSD's Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program shows that our discharge has comprised only minor percentages of the phosphorus and ammonia delivered by the Fox River to Green Bay during the past five years. A recent study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey found that water reclamation facilities and industrial dischargers in the Fox River watershed were responsible for only 30% of the phosphorus delivered to Green Bay. The remaining 70% was caused by polluted runoff.
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