In partnership with the Wisconsin DNR and Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, the McLellan Lab informs local municipalities on the importance of bacteria and genetic testing for stormwater illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE) programs. Associated PowerPoint slides and the 2024 stormwater report will be available soon.

Sandra McLellan and PhD student, Kieyarrah Dennis, film with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Division of Marketing, Communications & University Relations for advertising campaign aimed at student recruitment and will also support fundraising and community engagement efforts.

Read the full Urban Milwaukee article here.

Sandra McLellan describes how E.coli can provide insight into water standards but is not the best indicator for fecal contamination. Read the article here: There are worse things in the water than E. coli 

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St. Petersburg officials turn off water after main breaks during Milton landfall. Here are the Health risks

The McLellan Lab has been conducting testing at South Shore Beach for over 20 years, and has found the chosen area for the new beach has better water circulation and lower bacterial contamination than the current beach. Read more about beach rebuild plans here: DNR Funding New Beach for South Shore Park 

The Mclellan lab received multiple Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) grants to enhance ongoing research on E.coli levels on various beaches local to SE Wisconsin.

Throughout the summer of 20203, our students (pictured below) collected over 70 water and sand samples from 6 beaches across Lake Michigan in addition to working on individual projects which they presented in the form of poster.

From left to right: Zachary Lewan, Mariella Boudreau, and Kirandeep Kaur

Read more aobut the UWM SURF program here: https://uwm.edu/our/programs/support-for-undergraduate-research-fellows-surf/

UWM is a partner in a new CDC national center for wastewater surveillance

Dr. Sandra McLellan was recognized as a distinguished professor, and has received the first Lynde B. Uihlein Professorship in Ecosystem Health. The four-year appointment will allow Sandra to expand her lab’s exploration into new research on the evolution of bacteria living in urban water infrastructure. Read more about these accomplishments here: https://uwm.edu/freshwater/mclellan-receives-new-uihlein-professorship-to-expand-research-named-uwm-distinguished-professor/