United States of America · Madison · See the United States of America profile
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Madison's sewerage district meets phosphorus limits by funding farm and nonpoint reductions across the Yahara watershed rather than a $78–124M plant upgrade; 68,303 lb prevented in 2025.
The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) faced Rock River Basin TMDL phosphorus limits (EPA-approved September 2011). Instead of building filtration at its plant (estimated life-cycle cost $78–124 million), it used Wisconsin's watershed adaptive management option (NR 217.18) to pay for phosphorus cuts from farms and other nonpoint sources across the Yahara watershed.
A 2012 pilot, funded with about $3 million and joined by more than 30 municipal and other partners, led to full-scale implementation; in 2016 MMSD signed an intergovernmental agreement with three other point sources, with cost shares allocated by pounds of required reduction.
EPA's case study reports over 61,000 pounds of phosphorus prevented from reaching surface waters in the early years; the 2025 annual report (released July 2026) reports 68,303 pounds prevented in 2025, above the watershed-wide annual target.
Caveats: results are partner-reported, outcomes depend on continued farmer participation, and legacy phosphorus in lake sediments limits how fast in-lake water quality responds.
Read the full analysis: https://www.wispolitics.com/2026/yahara-watershed-improvement-network-2025-marks-another-milestone-year-for-yahara-wins/
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Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
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United States of America
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