As former City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works Commissioners, we believe it is important to provide perspective amid recent criticism of how the regional wastewater system is managed. Rain gardens, bioswales, green medians, floodplain restoration, and strategic redevelopment projects have all helped reduce the amount of stormwater entering the sewer system in the first place. But we should be honest about what any sewer system can realistically accomplish. Milwaukee’s wastewater system is one of the largest public infrastructure networks in the country. Jim Kaminski served as Milwaukee’s Commissioner of Public Works from 1996 – 2004.