Plant upgrades to meet new phosphorus permit limits can cost clean-water agencies millions of dollars. In Wisconsin, the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is leading neighboring communities in an alternate, less costly and more effective approach.Six cities, eight villages and five towns have joined the Yahara WINs (Watershed Improvement Network), an alliance to protect the lakes and rivers in the Yahara River watershed from excessive nutrients, notably phosphorus.The lakes in and near Madison, Wisconsin’s capital city, are severely impaired by nutrient pollution and subject to severe summer algae blooms. Yahara WINs is a 20-year program aimed at reducing total phosphorus
