As communities around the world grapple with climate change, water quality, and soil health, a growing number are turning to integrated, systems-based approaches to restore environmental balance. One such model has been unfolding in south-central Wisconsin since 2012, when the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District launched the Yahara Watershed Improvement Network (Yahara WINS), a groundbreaking regional effort to improve water quality and foster climate resilience through a blend of One Water principles, adaptive management strategies, regenerative land practices, and net-zero thinking.
Collaboration drives program success
At its core, the One Water approach acknowledges that all water – whether it’s drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater or surface water – is part of a single, interconnected system that must be managed holistically. This philosophy is foundational to Yahara WINS, a watershed-scale collaboration among utilities, municipalities, farmers, and community members working to reduce phosphorus pollution in the Yahara Watershed.
“What makes Yahara WINS particularly innovative is this emphasis on partnerships and shared accountability,” says Martye Griffin, President of Yahara WINS and Director of Ecosystem Services at Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. “Our consistent engagement with stakeholders has helped the program build momentum for better outcomes.”
Achieving multiple sustainability goals
Agricultural runoff, urban stormwater, and municipal wastewater all contribute to nutrient loading – especially phosphorus – which can fuel harmful algal blooms that threaten aquatic ecosystems, community recreation, and water quality for the region. To tackle this, Yahara WINS funds and supports a range of regenerative land practices that improve both water quality and the long-term health of the land. Conservation activities like cover cropping, reduced tillage, managed razing, and buffer strips help increase soil organic matter, improve infiltration, and reduce nutrient loss. These approaches not only stop pollutants from reaching the water, but they also actively enhance soil health and trap carbon in the soil.
“While the primary focus of Yahara WINS has been phosphorus reduction, we’re seeing many other benefits from the work by our partners that advance broader climate action goals,” said Mike Gilbertson, Watershed Program Coordinator at Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District.
And there’s another layer to the story: Yahara WINS is helping lay the groundwork for a net-zero future. Achieving “net zero” means balancing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted with an equivalent amount removed or offset. While traditionally associated with energy and emissions, net-zero strategies are increasingly being integrated across environmental systems, including land and water.
Regenerative agriculture plays a crucial role in this equation. Not only do healthier soils sequester more carbon, but land practices that reduce fertilizer use and fossil fuel-intensive tillage help reduce emissions. Likewise, keeping nutrients like phosphorus out of waterways reduces the production of methane and nitrous oxide, both greenhouse gases that emerge from eutrophic (nutrient-rich) water bodies.
Performance-based progress
Yahara WINS incentivizes and supports the adoption of land management practices by offering financial assistance and technical support to farmers and landowners. The initiative pays for performance-based phosphorus reductions, regardless of whether they come from urban or rural sources. This unique approach encourages innovation and cooperation, breaking down traditional silos between stakeholders.
One shining example of this collaborative effort is the partnership between Yahara WINS, local conservation organizations and producers to install grassed waterways and buffer strips on vulnerable fields. These vegetated areas help trap sediments and absorb excess nutrients before they reach nearby waterways. In one project, coordinated by the Dane County Land and Water Resources and supported by Yahara WINS, over 1,000 acres of farmland were transitioned to cover crops, dramatically reducing winter soil erosion and spring phosphorus runoff.
A win-win-win framework
Yahara WINS demonstrates how municipalities and utilities contribute to net-zero goals by investing in nature-based solutions instead of costly infrastructure. Working with landowners to implement conservation practices upstream from a wastewater treatment facility can help achieve greater nutrient reduction at a lower cost. It’s a sustainable way to meet regulatory requirements while minimizing investment in equipment upgrades.
Farmers and landowners benefit from improved soil health, increased yields, financial incentives through cost share agreements, and carbon reduction benefits that bring value through the supply chain.
Communities benefit from enhanced water quality and improved recreational opportunities, which support local economies and public health.
“When an environmental initiative is well-designed, it brings forward benefits that extend far beyond the reason for its creation in the first place,” said Griffin. “With Yahara WINS, we all win.”
Through its One Water framework, Yahara WINS bridges the gap between land management, water quality and climate action. It transforms how communities view land and water management, recognizing that these systems do not operate independently, and neither should the solutions. Partnerships are essential, and Yahara WINS has become a national model for what’s possible when stakeholders come together with a shared vision and shared responsibility for driving meaningful, measurable change.
To learn more about Yahara WINS and how you can support or implement regenerative practices in your community, visit yaharawins.org. For more information on the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District service area or its programs and initiatives, visit madsewer.org.
