Sweet Water
MISSION
Sweet Water is committed to restoring the Greater Milwaukee watersheds to conditions that are healthy for swimming and fishing. They bring diverse partners together and provide the leadership and innovation necessary to protect and restore shared water resources.
goals
Restoring our watersheds by facilitating collaborative projects that reduce the discharge of pollutants and that restore aquatic and shoreland habitat
Building collaborations with diverse stakeholders from business, agriculture, municipalities, state and regional agencies, and community based organizations
Basing decisions on sound science
Providing leadership to address those water resource challenges that otherwise will not be solved, particularly rural and urban runoff
Taking a watershed approach that bridges jurisdictional and social boundaries and recognizes that how we manage the land affects our water resources
Finding and supporting the implementation of the most cost-effective solutions that lead to significant improvements in the watersheds
Pursuing new funding opportunities to increase the investment in restoration of the Greater Milwaukee watersheds
HISTORY
Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc. (Sweet Water) is a 501(c)(3) non-advocacy, science-based watershed organization that works to fulfill the promise of the Clean Water Act. They work primarily in Southeastern Wisconsin, specifically the Milwaukee River Basin, which includes the Menomonee, Kinnickinnic, and Milwaukee rivers. They develop technical watershed improvement documents, such as Nine Key Element Plans, and provide hands-on and technical stormwater programming through Respect Our Waters, their education and outreach campaign. Their Adopt Your Drain program is a pathway for the public to be directly involved in stormwater pollution prevention. They work hand in hand with 33 municipalities and counties to assist in stormwater technical needs. Recent examples of their work include a multi-year leaf management study, hosting the annual Clean Rivers Clean Lake Conference, municipal staff trainings, and bacteria monitoring.