Just about every day Danna Olsen works in her garden, carefully weeding and watering. It's not a big garden, but it's hers.
"I like it that it's small," she says, hovering over her flowers, tomatoes and herbs, watering can in hand.
Infrastructure unearthed
Everything that makes modern life possible is buried under East Johnson Street. It might sound like an overstatement, until you get a rare glimpse of Madison's complex web of infrastructure, temporarily exposed some six feet below the street's surface.
A new life for Well 7
For 75 years it has stood on North Sherman Avenue, shaded by a maple tree, quietly pumping millions of gallons of water to homes and businesses across Madison's north side. But the facility, known simply as Well 7, doesn't get a lot of second looks – or
(Fire scene photos courtesy: Madison Fire Dept.)
The call
It was just after dawn on a frigid Tuesday morning in January when Madison Water Utility employee Eric Cooper got a call from the fire department.
"They said, 'We need as much water as possible
At first glance, they couldn't seem more different from Wisconsin. The tiny villages of Nueva Providencia, El Adelanto, Sacbochol, El Rosaria, Tierra Linda, and Pujujilito are tucked into lush Guatemalan mountainsides some 2,700 miles south of the Badger State. But there is one thing
Going without
It's easy to take it for granted – turn on the tap, out comes water. But for dozens of people in Madison, the water has stopped.
"You can't flush the toilets, you can't wash the dishes, you can't wash clothes...brush your teeth, take a shower, all
"I can't believe how much water is in this house!"
They're known among Madison Water Utility inspectors simply as "flooded houses" – homes with collapsed ceilings and peeling drywall, water pouring out from under doors, thick ice on the insides of windows
Updated on May, 14, 2015 - 11:00am
Initiative aims to keep pharmaceuticals out of our wastewater and landfills
It's an alarming thought – prescription drugs like anti-depressants, hormones, painkillers, antibiotics, and steroids showing up in the water