Milwaukee's Deep Tunnel: Storing storm runoff

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee's deep tunnel system is storing millions of gallons of storm runoff from rain that drenched southeast Wisconsin on Monday, May 12th.

As of 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) reported the main deep tunnel, which has a capacity of 432 million gallons, was 51 percent full -- storing about 222 million gallons. The northwest side deep tunnel, which has a capacity of 89 million gallons, was 30 percent full -- storing about 27 million gallons.

CLICK HERE to monitor the status of the deep tunnel system

At 8:40 p.m. on Monday, the MMSD storm update site indicated emergency steps were taken at the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility to reduce the risk of sewer overflows due to heavy rain. Combined sewage treatment was initiated.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.