Milwaukee Riverkeeper is using sewage dogs to sniff out areas where water may be leaking from the sanitary sewer into the storm sewer. The dogs are trained to alert people if they smell fecal pollution. By identifying specific manholes with contamination, the dogs can help narrow the area of investigation.

Milwaukee River Keeper received a $4000 grant from Sweet Water Trust to test the effectiveness of the dogs’ sniffing skills. Volunteers pulled samples from the manholes that the dogs sniffed to verify the findings. The dogs came from Environmental Canine Services, a company that specializes in training dogs to detect illicit discharges.