A Message from the Executive Director - NEW Water - The brand of the Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District - 2021 Annual Report - Report - Page 2
A Message from the Executive Director
Public Service: Stronger Together
In 2021, NEW Water celebrated its 90th year of service to Northeast
Wisconsin. I am proud of the quality service we continue to provide so
that the families, businesses, and visitors to Northeast Wisconsin can do
the dishes, flush the toilet, and run their businesses whenever they want.
With this Annual Report, I offer a snapshot of NEW Water’s
accomplishments, highlights, and challenges.
As the pandemic continued around the world in 2021, the wave also hit
Northeast Wisconsin. We implemented numerous safety measures to
continue to keep our staff safe so they could go home to their families
each day.
Wastewater made national news for the COVID-19 in wastewater study, which ramped up in 2021,
providing data to decision-makers to detect community levels of the virus. A COVID-19 in wastewater
dashboard went live, showing data from wastewater facilities around Wisconsin, including ours in both
Green Bay and De Pere.
Outside our facility fences, we have become more intentional about partnering for water on pollution
prevention strategies. By doing so, we can achieve greater cost savings, and more effectively protect
public health and our shared waters.
In 2021, we launched our NEW Watershed Program, an approach to achieving permit compliance at a
lower cost, with greater environmental gain. We also engaged our customers in our long-term Facility
Plan, to ensure the continuation of reliable service for the community. We partnered with municipalities
to address clear water getting into our shared sanitary sewer system, otherwise known as Inflow &
Infiltration, as well as “unflushables,” or everything that should not be put into the pipes.
Our staff once again led NEW Water to achieve 100% permit compliance in 2021, and continued to
embrace our cultural attributes of Safety, Team, Environment, and Respect. I want to thank our Team
for their dedication, innovation, and commitment to our utility, and our community.
Thomas W. Sigmund, P.E.
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Executive Director