Sweet Water

What Sweet Water does

Sweet Water, legally the Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2008 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its mission is to restore the five Greater Milwaukee watersheds — the Milwaukee, Menomonee, Kinnickinnic, Oak Creek, and Root River watersheds — spanning seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin to conditions healthy for swimming and fishing. The organization operates as a neutral convener and program operator rather than a technology vendor, coordinating among municipalities, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, academic institutions, and regional businesses.

The organization's service surface consists of watershed planning (Nine Key Element Plans and Water Quality Improvement Plans), public education programs (Respect Our Waters, Adopt Your Drain), MS4 compliance support for municipal partners, community events and advisory committees, a Mini-Grant Program, and the annual Clean Rivers Clean Lakes Conference. Sweet Water does not sell products or services and instead delivers value through collaborative programming, shared planning artifacts, and stakeholder convening. Field work is conducted by a small staff including a Field Manager & Data Analyst who supports water quality monitoring and inspection of gray and green infrastructure, with a liaison relationship to the UWM School of Freshwater Sciences.

Sweet Water is funded through a mix of grants and foundation funding, municipal partnership contributions from cities, villages, towns, and counties within the watershed area, and individual donations solicited via the Watershed Watch newsletter. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. As of the available data, the organization has 7 staff members led by Executive Director Jake Fincher, with notable program capacity expansion in 2024 through four new hires and an additional AmeriCorps Outreach Coordinator onboarded in 2025.

Name

Sweet Water

Legal name

Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc.

Website

https://swwtwater.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sweet Water is a Milwaukee-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that convenes municipalities, government agencies, and community partners to restore the five Greater Milwaukee watersheds across seven southeastern Wisconsin counties through planning, education, and MS4 compliance programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Watershed Restoration Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Organizations (HLAJAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wellhead Protection & Source Water Protection Studies (EUAHAFAK)

Keywords

• Watershed restoration
• Water quality improvement
• Stormwater management
• Municipal collaboration
• Public education

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: Primary funding through grants from environmental foundations and government programs to support watershed restoration projects.
2. Municipal Partnership Contributions: Funding and in-kind support from municipal partners including cities, counties, and water management districts within the five watersheds.
3. Individual Donations: Contributions from individual supporters through the Watershed Watch newsletter and community engagement programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sweet Water is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that convenes municipalities, government agencies, utilities, academic institutions, and businesses to restore the Greater Milwaukee watersheds (five watersheds across seven southeastern Wisconsin counties) to conditions safe for swimming and fishing. Its core offerings include watershed planning (Nine Key Element Plans, Water Quality Improvement Plans), public education and outreach programs (Respect Our Waters, Adopt Your Drain), MS4 stormwater compliance resources for municipal partners, the annual Clean Rivers Clean Lakes Conference, a Mini-Grant Program, and field water quality monitoring.

Product overview

Sweet Water is a non-profit watershed conservation organization (501(c)(3)) focused on restoring the Greater Milwaukee watersheds to conditions healthy for swimming and fishing. Rather than a technology product company, Sweet Water offers conservation programs and services including watershed planning, public education initiatives, community events, and MS4 compliance resources for municipal partners across southeastern Wisconsin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Watershed Planning
• Public Education Programs (Respect Our Waters and Adopt Your Drain)
• Clean Rivers, Clean Lake (CRCL) Conference

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState environmental agency providing regulatory oversight, funding support, and technical guidance for watershed restoration initiatives across the five watersheds of southeastern Wisconsin.
• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional municipal utility serving as key partner in water quality management and stormwater infrastructure coordination within the Greater Milwaukee watersheds.
• Municipal Partners (Cities, Villages, Towns)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government entities within the five watersheds (Milwaukee River, Menomonee River, Kinnickinnic River, Oak Creek, and Root River) providing funding, land access, and local implementation support for restoration projects.
• Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional planning agency providing technical assistance, data analysis, and planning coordination for watershed-scale restoration efforts across the seven-county region.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• River Network: National nonprofit that supports and connects local watershed groups across the U.S.; comparable mission of building capacity for community-led watershed protection, but at a national scale rather than a single region.
• Center for Watershed Protection: National nonprofit providing technical tools, training, and research on watershed protection — comparable programmatic work around green infrastructure and stormwater best practices.
• The Nature Conservancy (Wisconsin): Global conservation organization with an active Wisconsin chapter pursuing water and land protection; comparable water-quality restoration work but operating at much larger scale and broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• Milwaukee Riverkeeper: Local watershed advocacy organization focused on protecting the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic rivers — directly overlapping with Sweet Water's geographic footprint and core mission of swimmable/fishable waterways.
• Clean Wisconsin: Statewide environmental advocacy organization in Wisconsin working on clean water and clean air — same state, overlapping donor base, and shared water-quality policy priorities.
• Alliance for the Great Lakes: Largest Great Lakes-focused nonprofit, working on water quality, shoreline health, and policy across the entire basin; directly comparable mission scope with Sweet Water but operating at a multi-state regional level.
• Groundwork Milwaukee: Community-based environmental nonprofit in Milwaukee focused on urban watersheds, green infrastructure, and environmental justice — directly comparable model of community-led watershed restoration in the same city.
• Wisconsin Wetlands Association: Statewide nonprofit dedicated to wetland conservation in Wisconsin; highly comparable mission scope focused on water resource protection within the same operating geography.

Others

• Great Lakes Commission: Binational U.S.–Canadian agency coordinating Great Lakes policy and programs; not a peer in the organizational sense, but a key coordinating body whose funding programs Sweet Water accesses through its municipal and state partnerships.

Regional players

• Ozaukee Washington Land Trust: Regional land/water-focused conservation organization serving portions of Sweet Water's watershed area; comparable mission of protecting water resources through land conservation in SE Wisconsin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/swwtwater
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sweet-water-aka-southeastern-wisconsin-watersheds-trust-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sweet Water