Donohue & Associates and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District received a Best of State Award in the 2004 ACEC Wisconsin Engineering Excellence competition. The award recognizes the expanded and improved the preliminary treatment facilities at Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's South Shore wastewater treatment facility.

A physical hydraulic model was constructed on a 12:1 scale to optimize flow, grit, and debris distribution to the four existing and three new grit tanks under varying operating scenarios. The modeling established criteria to minimize grit sedimentation in the headworks area by determining the length and turning angles for the approach section. It also demonstrated that adding automated gates to control flow velocity would further improve grit and debris distribution.

Donohue’s services included the multifaceted design of the entire preliminary treatment facilities, physical modeling with simulations of real-life conditions, and complex construction sequencing. A collaborative approach between the District, Donohue, United Water Services, WDNR, and C.D. Smith Construction led to completion of the $21.7 million improvements project over a year ahead of schedule, without interrupting wastewater flow and treatment during construction. "This was the single most complex wastewater treatment facility construction project undertaken in Wisconsin over the last 25 years." stated Charles Pape, Wisconsin DNR Construction Management Engineer and Project Reviewer.