News

Near Lake Michigan shore a $15 billion data center prompts a small town reckoning.

With accumulating force and accelerating speed, a new era of electrical generation and power demand is taking shape across the eight states of the Great Lakes basin – and with it come potentially treacherous consequences for the region’s environment and its world-leading supply of clean, fresh water. 

New battery storage, solar and wind plants, and gas-fired installations, joined by reopened nuclear and coal plants, are adding generating capacity to a region that already supplies a third of all electricity in the United States. Electric vehicles, new manufacturing plants, and growing cities are eager to receive the energy, steadily increasing electricity demand.

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The presence of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in biosolids is drawing increased attention nationwide, and in particular across the agricultural sector. Biosolids—nutrient-rich byproducts of wastewater treatment—are widely used by farmers to improve soil health and support crop growth. However, recent evaluations have raised questions about the long-term environmental behavior of PFAS compounds, often characterized as persistent in soil and water.

Biosolids are often applied to farmland to provide nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, along with organic matter that improves soil health. Their low cost makes them an attractive alternative to commercial fertilizers. Application methods—such as surface spreading or injection—are timed to crop cycles and managed to prevent overuse and runoff.

As PFAS conversations grow, some states are reevaluating biosolids regulations, and farmers are increasingly testing soils and reviewing biosolid sources. Maine is currently the only state to outright ban land application of biosolids containing PFAS. Connecticut has also passed legislation that prohibits the sale and use of PFAS-containing biosolids and wastewater sludge as soil amendments, which effectively acts as a de facto ban on land application. Other states are also exploring alternative disposal and treatment technologies.

Farmers and agricultural companies alike are responding by reviewing the sources of biosolids used on land, conducting soil and water testing, and considering mitigation strategies. Emerging technologies—such as thermal treatment and advanced filtration—are being studied for their potential to reduce PFAS levels before land application.

As regulatory discussions continue, the agricultural industry is actively engaging with environmental agencies, researchers, and industry partners to better understand the implications, working with regulators and researchers to ensure their safe and sustainable use. The shared goal is to maintain the benefits of biosolids in sustainable farming while responsibly managing emerging contaminants.

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As southeastern Wisconsin reckons with the growing toll of extreme weather events − such as last weekend's 1,000-year flood − the region faces mounting costs to infrastructure, possible displacement, the loss of personal belongings and irreplaceable memories, as well a serious impacts to mental and physical health.

A new report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum outlines how Wisconsin has seen an increase in damage caused by flooding, in turn leading to dramatic spikes in flood insurance claims and payouts.

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mHUB and Current have launched an ambitious new accelerator program aimed at rapidly commercializing physical water technologies. This venture comes at a pressing moment for the industry: Aging infrastructure, increasing industrial water use, and tightening regulations are creating a true sense of urgency around technological innovation.

The Sustainable Water Tech Accelerator, formally announced this spring, is now actively recruiting early-stage companies developing physical products across the water and wastewater space. The six-month accelerator, backed by the NSF-funded Great Lakes ReNEW Engine, will select 8–10 startups to participate later this year.

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