UW-Milwaukee Center for Water Policy

This past spring, the Guardian reported dozens of homes along North Carolina’s Outer Banks falling into the sea due to beach erosion. To avoid the same perilous fate, people are moving their homes on wheels further inland. Hard shoreline armoring and beach nourishment are other common responses to this issue, but these responses raise public access concerns.

Read the Guardian’s story: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/29/north-carolina-outer-banks-homes

Read our new research on the legal gaps in climate-disrupted shoreline management: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/denver-water-law-review-published-open-to-the-public-legal-protections-for-public-access-to-shifting-ocean-and-great-lakes-shorelines/

Denver Water Law Review Published “Open to the Public: Legal Protections for Public Access to Shifting Ocean and Great Lakes Shorelines” Shorelines and beaches are rapidly shifting and eroding as climate change causes ocean levels to rise and Great Lakes water levels to wildly fluctuate. But the most common responses to this erosion, specifically hard shoreline armoring and beach nourishment, raise serious …

Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan was on NPR’s High Plains Public Radio discussing a proposed rural Kansas data center. Professor Scanlan contextualized how the lack of resource demand disclosure and regional- and state-level planning for AI-data center development can disempower local communities.

Read the piece at High Plains Public Radio: https://www.kcur.org/2026-06-09/an-ai-data-center-project-for-western-kansas-might-use-less-water-than-irrigation-farming

Check out the Center’s AI-data center policy recommendations in our Legislative Model: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/center-for-water-policy-releases-ai-data-centers-legislative-model-to-promote-transparency-and-environmental-protections/

An AI data center project for western Kansas might use less water than irrigation farming Massive data centers powering artificial intelligence have sprouted across the country in recent years, drawing opposition for their water consumption. But in rural Kansas, boosters of one project argue that it could represent a huge savings in water use compared to irrigated farming.

Walking on the beach is a simple, yet legally complex act.

The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan and Water Science and Policy Communications Fellow Will Matuska write in The Conversation US about the ways the public is excluded from reaching the water’s edge — even when that right is protected by the public trust — and how communities respond.

Read it at The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/who-is-allowed-to-walk-on-the-beach-it-depends-on-where-you-live-281496?utm_medium=article_native_share&utm_source=theconversation.com

Read more of our work on the Public Trust Doctrine on our website: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/denver-water-law-review-published-open-to-the-public-legal-protections-for-public-access-to-shifting-ocean-and-great-lakes-shorelines/

Who is allowed to walk on the beach? It depends on where you live Both legally and practically speaking, getting to the water’s edge isn’t as straightforward as it might seem – or as many people might like.

June 5 is World Environment Day! World Environment Day, established by the United Nations in 1972, is a global day for environmental awareness and action. To celebrate World Environment Day, Center for Water Policy team members are sharing our favorite ways to spend time outside!

Comment how you’re spending time outside this summer!



UWM School of Freshwater Sciences

Shorelines and beaches are rapidly shifting and eroding as climate change causes ocean levels to rise and Great Lakes water levels to wildly fluctuate. But the most common responses to this erosion, specifically hard shoreline armoring and beach nourishment, raise serious concerns regarding access to public trust resources.

In the Center for Water Policy’s latest research, Water Policy Specialist Emma Ehrlich (2024-2025), Interim Assistant Director Cora Sutherland (2024-2025), and Director Melissa Scanlan investigate the legal protections for public access along the oceans and Great Lakes. This published academic research sheds light on the legal gaps in climate-disrupted shoreline management and highlights the need for Great Lakes states to learn from exemplar states to better protect public access to our beaches.

Quick Facts: What you need to know

🔹 Shoreline armoring can physically restrict public access and diminish our sandy beaches.

🔹 Government-funded beach nourishment often sparks debate over whether public funds are disproportionately benefiting private homeowners.

🔹 Legal gaps exist where courts’ interpretations of public access requirements reveal significant deficiencies and a lack of protective policies across different regions.

Read the research published by Denver Water Law: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6863659

Wisconsin isn’t the only Great Lakes state grappling with the complex issue of abandoned boats. The G Tug Hawaii has been submerged in Presque Isle Bay, Lake Erie, since December 2025. On May 8, a crane attempted to remove the boat from the bay but failed and dropped the tug back into the water.

Read the full article from GoErie.com | Erie Times-News here: https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/2026/05/08/tugboat-falls-back-into-lake-erie/89992685007/

And check out the Center’s policy brief on abandoned boats here: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/policy-brief-abandoned-boats-in-state-waters-achieving-a-clear-and-efficient-response-in-wisconsin/

Tugboat falls back into Lake Erie during retrieval attempt On May 8, the G Tug Hawaii was scheduled to be pulled out of Lake Erie. A sudden mishap caused the boat to sink back to the bottom of the bay.

A recent report from the state of Michigan shows that its phosphorus input into Lake Erie has decreased. The report highlights community environmental programs, improvements to wastewater treatment plants, and new sensing technology as crucial parts of Michigan’s phosphorus reduction plan. However, reducing phosphorus loading in Lake Erie is a collaborative issue, and Michigan’s phosphorus reductions can be offset by high phosphorus inputs from Ohio or Ontario. The U.S. and Canada aim to reduce total phosphorus inputs into western Lake Erie by 40%.

Read the full article from MLive.com here. https://www.mlive.com/environment/2026/05/michigans-lake-erie-report-shows-progress-but-not-a-turning-point.html

And check out the Center’s phosphorus research here: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/uc-davis-law-schools-environs-environmental-law-and-policy-journal-published-solving-the-phosphorus-paradox-five-states-approaches-to-restoring-nutrient-impaired-surface-w/

Michigan’s Lake Erie report shows progress, but not a turning point The state cites phosphorus reductions and expanded monitoring as scientists warn bloom severity still hinges on spring runoff.

Milwaukee is facing a federal deadline to replace all lead pipes by 2037 — an uphill task. Since 2017, Milwaukee has taken advantage of funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to subsidize the cost of replacing more than 10,000 lead pipes with copper, but more than 65,000 lead pipes remain. Reaching that goal may be more challenging due to federal funding constraints.

Read the full article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/special-reports/2026/05/06/milwaukee-has-65000-lead-pipes-to-replace-before-federal-deadline/89598602007/

And check out the Center’s research on lead and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law here: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/university-of-michigans-journal-of-environmental-and-administrative-law-published-got-lead-in-your-water-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-may-be-poised-to-help/

Milwaukee has to replace its lead pipes by 2037. But 65,000 remain Milwaukee is facing a federal deadline for replacing lead service lines that carry water from mains to homes. The city might not meet it.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has started a rulemaking process to rescind certain PFAS drinking water standards. PFAS are a large class of “forever chemicals” that pose a suite of environmental and public health risks.

Current standards, established in 2024, set maximum contaminant levels for certain types of PFAS in drinking water. EPA is proposing to rescind those standards for four PFAS compounds. Before changing the PFAS standards, EPA must hold a public comment period, which is open until July 20, 2026.

Learn more about the proposed change and participate in the public comment period: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/20/2026-10085/rescission-of-regulatory-determinations-and-removal-of-related-provisions-for-four-pfas-substances

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0654

And check out the Center’s website for more information: https://uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/pfas-contamination-in-wisconsins-public-drinking-water-supplies-regulatory-context-2/

Rescission of Regulatory Determinations and Removal of Related Provisions for Four PFAS Substances (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Mixture of These Three PFAS Plus PFBS) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to rescind its regulatory determinations to regulate four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)--perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt (HFPO-DA,...

The Center for Water Policy’s 2024-26 Water Policy and Science Communications Fellow Cami Armendariz won “Best Short Video” in the 2026 Planet Forward Storyfest for her video “Bringing Back the Giants: Sturgeon Restoration in the Milwaukee River Watershed.”

Congratulations Cami! Watch this award-winning short film on her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=rXeco5En27TrS1cy&v=LhHfIJ2qAck&feature=youtu.be



Milwaukee Riverkeeper, UWM School of Freshwater Sciences, Riveredge Nature Center, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Bringing Back the Giants: Sturgeon Restoration in the Milwaukee River Watershed Once abundant throughout the Great Lakes, lake sturgeon in the Milw...