Green Stormwater Infrastructure Case Study: Davidson Park

Davidson Park is a signature Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) project developed through the Fresh Coast Protection Partnership (FCPP), a community-based partnership between CIS and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). Located on the Harley-Davidson headquarters campus on the west side of Milwaukee, Davidson Park transformed what was a large employee parking lot into a signature […]
Choosing Your Great Lakes Future: A New Online Scenario Game

The Great Lakes of today are much cleaner and healthier than they were in the early and mid-1900s. Substantial investment and effort have improved the environments and communities around the Great Lakes. Yet, there is more work to be done to fix problems that remain and protect recent improvements from threats on the horizon. To […]
Driving Sustainable Growth: A Testimonial from The Water Institute’s Participation at the 2024 Great Lakes Sustainable Growth Forum

In late June, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) in collaboration with the Toronto Region Board of Trade, hosted the Great Lakes Sustainable Growth Forum. This significant event united leaders from various sectors to tackle critical challenges, explore how to responsibly grow the Great Lakes regional economy, and protect the Great Lakes – […]
Measuring What Matters: Household Water Use in the Great Lakes Region

“Measure what matters” and “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”: those may be old clichés, but they’re still goodies! Business managers everywhere know that tracking important metrics and trends and understanding the drivers behind them is essential to strategic decision-making and course-correcting when necessary. But in the world of water management, good measurements can […]
Net Zero for Water? It’s More Complicated Than That

As net zero emissions become the standard for sustainability-minded corporations worldwide, this carbon mindset is being misapplied to water as we hear more and more about “net zero water.” But the truth is, water is more complicated than that and cannot be distilled down to an accounting exercise due to its unique traits. In general, […]
From an “Open Sewer” to our Greatest Asset: How Milwaukee Overcame a Legacy of Industrial Water Pollution

It’s a gorgeous sunny evening in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the Milwaukee River, two friends call out to each other as they paddle their kayaks under the Water Street bridge. Milwaukeeans enjoy the riverwalk in the Third Ward neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Visit Milwaukee. A couple enjoying a drink on the patio of their riverfront condo raise […]
Businesses Becoming Great Lakes WISE

Anyone who pays attention to water knows the vital importance of the Great Lakes. It’s one of the world’s largest freshwater systems, holding 21 percent of the world’s surface freshwater and 84 percent of North America’s freshwater. This water is critical to life but also to commerce. Milwaukee’s access to Lake Michigan and the businesses […]
An Urgent Need for Water Stewardship in Food & Beverage Processing

Changing mindsets to reduce water waste. Without water, there is no food. This truth is often applied to agriculture, but it is valid at all stages of the food and beverage production process. In fact, a 2021 Barclays analysis finds that the consumer staples sector—which includes food, ingredients, agribusiness, meat, beverages, tobacco and household and […]
BEYOND VOLUMES: Exploring the Societal Value of Corporate Water Stewardship Projects

In response to emerging water challenges, a growing number of companies are engaging in corporate water stewardship and working with others to achieve more sustainable water management. Many of these companies use volumetric water benefit accounting (VWBA) to estimate volumetric water benefits (VWBs) and identify, select, and monitor projects. However, experience on the ground has […]
Council of the Great Lakes Region and The Water Council Partner to Accelerate Water Innovation and Stewardship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 28TH, 2022 CHICAGO, IL / June 28, 2022 – Today, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) and The Water Council (TWC) announced a partnership to deepen ties and accelerate water innovation and stewardship in the bi-national Great Lakes region, the engine of the North American economy and guardian of […]