Massive Harbor Cleanup Facility Completed Ahead of Schedule, Under Budget

Completed Dredged Material Management Facility in September 2026. Photo from MMSD.

Milwaukee has a new 42-acre addition to its lakefront, and the massive facility is expected to play a critical role in cleaning up more than a century of pollution.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) announced Tuesday that construction of the Dredged Material Management Facility (DMMF) is complete, ahead of schedule and $26 million under its initial budget.

The facility, located along Lake Michigan near the southern end of the Hoan Bridge, will permanently contain contaminated sediment dredged from the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers.

Its completion clears a major hurdle for a $450 million federally backed cleanup initiative intended to restore the region’s waterways and eventually eliminate Milwaukee’s designation as one of the Great Lakes’ most polluted areas.

“Today marks a major milestone made possible through strong partnership across local, state, and federal agencies,” said MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer in a statement. “The DMMF is a generational project that gives us the secure, long-term infrastructure needed to restore the health of our rivers and communities for generations to come.”

The facility, effectively a giant bathtub extending into Lake Michigan, can accommodate 1.9 million cubic yards of sediment. That’s equivalent to approximately 13 football fields filled to a depth of 50 feet.

MMSD awarded a $115.4 million construction contract to Brownsville-based Michels Construction in 2024 after the firm submitted the lowest of three bids. The district previously estimated the overall facility would cost $149 million and the final cost is estimated to be $123 million.

Construction began in 2024, with completion originally anticipated in late 2026 or early 2027.

The facility is located immediately north of an existing 50-acre Confined Disposal Facility, constructed in 1975, that is now nearly full. Portions of that earlier facility have been repurposed for the Lake Express ferry terminal and the South Shore Cruise Dock.

Unlike routine dredging operations that remove accumulated sediment to maintain shipping channels, the new facility is specifically designed to safely contain material contaminated by generations of industrial activity.

The facility also eliminates the need to dry contaminated sediment and haul it to landfills. Instead, much of the material will be removed using hydraulic dredging equipment and pumped directly to the storage site. MMSD previously estimated the approach would save approximately 1 million gallons of diesel fuel while reducing truck traffic and road deterioration.

“The facility will keep hundreds of dump trucks off our roadways, keeping our roads in better shape and reducing emissions,” said Tia Torhorst of Harbor District. “As a partner in centering what is best for Milwaukee area residents during this project, we are ready to support the next steps in the cleanup now that the containment facility is complete.”

To avoid stressing the structure, the facility will not be drained before being filled. Instead, water will be removed as it is slowly filled with material.

A Generational Cleanup

The DMMF is a critical component of the Milwaukee Waterway Restoration Partnership, a coalition of local, state and federal agencies working to clean up the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern.

The estuary received the federal designation in 1987 because of extensive historical contamination, including polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, petroleum compounds and heavy metals such as mercury and lead.

The designated area includes Milwaukee’s Inner Harbor and portions of the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers, with an expanded area extending farther upstream into Milwaukee County and neighboring communities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $275 million commitment in October 2023 to support what it described as the largest cleanup project ever funded under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Local and state partners committed about $170 million.

The broader effort includes dredging contaminated sediment, restoring aquatic habitat and addressing other environmental impairments that have restricted recreational opportunities and harmed fish and wildlife populations.

“The DMMF is a key piece to addressing pollution in the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern,” said Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Karen Hyun. “Cleaning up and safely containing this toxic material in the years ahead will improve water quality, restore healthy fish and wildlife and ensure safe enjoyment of these waterways.”

The cleanup is intended to eventually remove the federal Area of Concern designation, signaling that the environmental problems that prompted the designation have been sufficiently addressed.

But completing the storage facility does not mean the cleanup itself is finished. The new structure provides the infrastructure necessary for the removal of contaminated material from the waterways in the years ahead.

And the facility’s useful life will extend far beyond the initial cleanup.

MMSD estimates it will take at least 30 years to fill the DMMF, followed by another 10 years or more for the sediment to settle and compress.

The City of Milwaukee, through Port Milwaukee, will own and operate the facility. Port officials, during a Harbor Commission meeting, announced two weeks ago that the facility was complete and the city had formally taken ownership.

Eventually, the newly created lakefront land could be repurposed. City officials previously identified recreational opportunities or port-related development as potential future uses, though any redevelopment would need to comply with Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine.

The DMMF under construction in May 2025. Photo by Urban Milwaukee staff.

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