How will Wisconsin’s new PFAS legislation change the state’s regulatory approach? That’s what previous Assistant Director Tressie Kamp and Water Policy Specialist Anna Watson answer in the cover story of Wisconsin Lawyer magazine’s October issue. The article discusses how two new Wisconsin laws enacted in April 2026 incorporate new grant programs, permitting requirements for sewage sludge, liability exemptions, and more. …
On September 3, 2026, a Milwaukee County Judge voided the trespassing ticket issued to Paul Florsheim for walking on the beach north of Atwater Beach in Shorewood. Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa …
We’re excited to welcome Max Overdevest, Thomas Dunbar, and Josh Marion, as the Center for Water Policy’s new fellows! Max is the Center’s fourth Water Policy and Communications Fellow who is also pursuing his master’s degree in Freshwater Sciences and Water …
The Center for Water Policy has launched a search for its next Assistant Director. This is a full-time, academic staff position at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences. The application deadline is August 22, 2026. The Assistant Director supports the …
The Lake Superior Water Trail spans international boundaries, one Canadian province, three U.S. states (MN, WI, MI), and fifteen Indigenous Nations. But its complex governance and lack of a unified management structure on the U.S. side result in fragmented administration and inconsistent stewardship. Cami Armendariz, Master’s student and the …
Here at the Center, we get a lot of questions about AI-data centers: how do they consume water? How does their water consumption compare to other industries? Does the Great Lakes Compact regulate their water use? The Center for Water Policy and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel collaborated …
Walking on the beach is a simple yet legally complex act. The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed …
Shorelines and beaches are rapidly shifting and eroding as climate change causes ocean levels to rise and Great Lakes water levels to wildly fluctuate. But the most common responses to this erosion, specifically hard shoreline armoring and beach nourishment, raise serious …
The Center for Water Policy’s 2024-26 Water Policy and Science Communications Fellow Cami Armendariz won “Best Short Video” in the 2026 Planet Forward Storyfest competition! Cami’s video “Bringing Back the Giants: Sturgeon Restoration in the Milwaukee River Watershed” examines how …
The Great Lakes region is experiencing an AI-data center boom. Unprecedented demands of the industry on water supplies, electric grids, and local infrastructure have exposed gaps in our water policies. Center Water Policy staff Melissa Scanlan, Tressie Kamp, Emilie Washer, and Will Matuska’s Op-Ed in the Milwaukee Journal …
