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    MPS Leverage Federal Funds for Wide Scale Potable Water Improvement

    MPS partnered with Zurn Elkay and utilized Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to deliver cleaner, safer filtered drinking water to Wisconsin’s largest school district.

    Map Marker (Twilight) Milwaukee Public Schools | Milwaukee, WI
    Milwaukee Public Shools - Students Filling Water Bottles

    About Milwaukee Public Schools

    MPS is an urban school district controlling 156 locations across a 100 square mile area, consisting of 70,000 students and 8.600 staff.

    The Objective

    Voluntary testing of Milwaukee Public Schools’ water fountains in 2016 showed unacceptable levels of lead, leading the district to install a patchwork of after-market external filtration systems. When they learned one of their existing replacement filter cartridge models would be discontinued in 2023, officials contacted Zurn Elkay to create a districtwide solution.

    The Challenges

    • Multiple brands, sizes and capacities in filter cartridges
    • 156 locations across district in various states of architectural and infrastructural condition
    • Limited budget
    • Narrow installation window
    • 700:1 student-to-bottle-filler ratio

    The Zurn Elkay Solution

    Working with the MPS team, Zurn Elkay evaluated the district’s current state of 2,498 drinking fountains and bottle filling stations and drew up a strategy to replace, retrofit or convert each to Elkay filtration over the 13-week summer break. In addition, they plotted out the optimal placement for installation of an additional 709 bottle filling stations, purchased largely through available federal ESSER funds.

    The Results

    Now working with a single supplier and significantly less filter SKU variation and confusion, the project yielded critical improvements for both operations and health. Each of MPS’s total 3,207 units uses the same Elkay 3,000- gallon filter cartridges, tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 42 and 53 to reduce lead and other harmful contaminants. Nearly 70,000 students, 8,600 staff and visiting community members have continuous access to cleaner, safer and healthier water at any and all of MPS’s 156 school facilities.


    We've been able to maintain the infrastructure, the plumbing and everything that's already there at all of our schools. And with all of our drinking water sources filtered with Elkay, we’re able to have just one filter model for the entire district, which helps with the maintenance and sustainability.


    Michelle Lenski
    Manager - Design & Construction

    Download MPS Customer Story PDF