No. About 473 — or 94% — of the more than 500 municipal wastewater treatment plants in Wisconsin discharge treated flow into rivers.
Only 22 flow directly to the Great Lakes and 8 flow directly to inland lakes. Federal and state regulations protect water quality and communities that are downstream of municipal discharges, and Waukesha’s return flow will meet all permit limits.
The only thing unusual about Waukesha’s discharge is its high quality. Only a handful of communities in Wisconsin have treatment processes that are as advanced as those used by Waukesha’s Clean Water Plant.