e-Newsletter | 04/19/2024

"Uh oh. The cat just came out of the basement and it's wet.”

I'll never forget those words or the person who said them in July 2010.

His name is John Jankowski, a dedicated MMSD employee of 31 years.

John uttered this statement in the middle of the night as we were on the phone together trying to manage the deep tunnel response to a now infamous storm that caused widespread flooding. This phone call was like so many others we've shared over the nine years since I became Executive Director of MMSD. That's right; every major storm that's hit the Milwaukee area – no matter what time of day, whether it's a holiday and the relatives are over (like Christmas Day, 2009), or even if we had one hour of sleep and had to be at the office the entire next day – resulted in a phone call just like this.

In July 2010, it hit home in an even more personal manner. As the storm raged on, we were talking about next steps to take in protecting the deep tunnel from overfilling. John said, "Uh oh. The cat just came out of the basement and it's wet.” This, of course, meant that his basement was flooded, but John did not stop working. He told me that there wasn't much he could do about it right then and he wanted to reduce the storm's impact on everyone else. I also had a wet basement that fateful night. Many did, and it results in a sinking feeling of despair.

John's response is very similar to other people at MMSD. Many do not realize how many dedicated employees work through these terrible events trying to protect all of us. There is a select group of people, including employees of Veolia Water, our contract operator, who understand MMSD's complex web of infrastructure, above and below ground, and how it reacts to billions of gallons of water suddenly slamming into the system when it rains. John is one of them.

Think about it. Thousands of miles of pipes deliver water to MMSD's 300 miles of sewers, a Deep Tunnel system that's 28.5 miles long, and two massive water reclamation facilities. Our battle together, naturally, is to try to capture as much water as possible when the clouds open up, keep it out of people's basements, and protect Lake Michigan from sewer overflows. We don't always win, but the Lake, our rivers, the MMSD system, and the region are all in better shape today thanks to all the people working backstage at MMSD and Veolia Water.

I'm telling you this story now, because John just announced that he is retiring at the end of the year and I thought it would make a good first story for "Blue Notes”, a new venture on my part. I'm hoping that Blue Notes will lead to fruitful discussion and greater understanding of the work that goes on to make the Milwaukee region a better place to live. If you want to comment right now, click here to leave me a message, question, or idea on MMSD's Facebook page. We're also on Twitter and YouTube under the name "H2oMilwaukee”. Please share this with others so we can expand the discussion. Let's talk. It takes everyone's help to improve the environment.

John, buddy, we will all miss you and wish you the very best!

MMSD's John Jankowski is interviewed by the 94.5 WKTI morning team of Reitman & Miller on April 6, 1990 during construction of the Deep Tunnel system.

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

260 W. Seeboth Street | Milwaukee, WI 53204