Tomorrow Water’s Proteus® Selected to Advance from Pilot to Demonstration at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
Tomorrow Water is proud to announce that the Proteus® technology has been selected to advance from pilot scale to a commercial-size demonstration plant at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) South Shore Water Reclamation Facility. After years of collaboration with MMSD and its engineers and advisers, this milestone marks a major step forward in advancing next‑generation primary treatment for one of the largest and most forward‑thinking water reclamation utilities in the United States.
Why now: MMSD is prioritizing solutions that can manage increasingly intense wet‑weather flows driven by climate change (a long‑standing regional need) and selected Proteus® for demonstration to validate high‑rate treatment performance under real‑world peak conditions.
As part of MMSD’s long‑term Primary Clarifier System Improvements, Tomorrow Water’s Proteus® technology was selected as one of two systems capable of meeting the District’s stringent performance requirements for future primary treatment. The Proteus® system, sized to treat up to 2.25 MGD, will be part of MMSD’s multi‑year initiative to evaluate innovative primary filtration technologies that can increase BOD removal, improve wet‑weather resilience, and support long‑term sustainability goals.
A First‑of‑Its‑Kind: Demonstration Plant
MMSD currently operates primary clarifiers installed in 1968. Proteus® technology represents a transformational opportunity for MMSD, offering:
High‑rate physical filtration with significantly higher solids and BOD removal compared to conventional clarifiers
Enhanced wet‑weather performance, enabling treatment plants to maintain stability during storm events
Smaller footprint and energy savings, reducing reliance on aeration and enabling process intensification
Chemical‑free operation, lowering cost and minimizing environmental impact
Strengthening Regional Resilience and Environmental Stewardship
MMSD treats up to 150 million gallons per day during dry weather and more than 600 million gallons per day during major storm events. As climate‑driven wet‑weather extremes increase, solutions like Proteus® are essential to preventing sewer overflows, enhancing redundancy, and protecting the Great Lakes region.
Looking ahead: as climate volatility accelerates, utilities everywhere will increasingly need Proteus‑class high‑rate primary filtration to maintain performance, expand capacity within tight footprints, and manage storm‑driven peaks. For many communities, Proteus® will become an essential foundation for resilient, future‑ready primary treatment.
Why It Matters
Stronger wet‑weather control: High‑rate primary filtration supports stable operations during storm events while protecting downstream processes.
Smaller footprint, future flexibility: Proteus® enables process intensification and can unlock space for energy/resource recovery assets.
Path to consistent performance: MMSD’s 2050 Facilities Plan targets higher, more reliable primary‑stage removals; this demonstration plant will generate site‑specific data to inform full‑scale design and lifecycle costs.