Sustainability
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Madison Water Utility reports unprecedented drop in city’s water use Posted 01/23/2020
Pump test for Well 31 on Tradewinds Parkway, Madison's only new well since 2006 Read more » -
EVERY DROP MADISON poll closes soon! Posted 09/25/2019
Click here to take the poll --- We’ve had a great response to the EVERY DROP MADISON poll so far, but there are still a few days left to give your input on the next phase of water conservation and sustainability in Madison. Read more » -
Average aquifer levels highest in a generation Posted 08/06/2019
Groundwater levels below the state Capitol building show rebounding trend --- Read more » -
Lost Lou and Peter Barryman tune about conservation gets new life. Posted 06/06/2019
"A Little Water" appears on Lou and Peter Barryman's newest CD, "OK, So Far..." --- Photo: Lou and Peter Barryman record the video for their song, "A Little Water" --- Read more » -
Annual water use in Madison drops by a billion gallons in six years Posted 01/17/2019
City hits water conservation and sustainability goal set in 2006 --- (Photo: Pump test for Well 31, brought online in 2018. It was Madison's first new well in 12 years.) Read more » -
Two Madison Water Utility projects getting national attention Posted 03/20/2018
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Water use in Madison drops to lowest level in 50 years Posted 01/19/2018
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Catching catastrophic plumbing problems -- through email Posted 12/18/2017
----- The last thing you want to hear during a vacation is bad news from home. But that’s exactly what Carol Philipps got during a recent trip to San Francisco – and it came from Madison Water Utility. Read more » -
Imagine a Day Without Water Posted 10/05/2017
Madison uses 27 million gallons of water a day. Can you imagine one day without it? Read more » -
What does your water dollar pay for? Posted 07/28/2017
The average family living in a house in Madison pays just over $19 a month for water. (Other charges like sewer, stormwater, landfill and urban forestry also appear on the Municipal Services Bill, but those charges are not levied by Madison Water Utility.) So how exactly does that money get spent? Here's a look: Read more » -
Saving Madison from salt Posted 12/02/2016
New WI Salt Wise campaign looks to educate the community about road salt as concerns grow over water contamination --- Read more » -
Reminder: The Great Showerhead Giveaway happening this Saturday! Posted 11/16/2016
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All eyes on the aquifer: Is Madison's water supply sustainable? Posted 06/19/2015
(Photo: A camera is lowered into a Madison Water Utility well bore hole, revealing an aquifer far below the city) --- Read more » -
Our graywater experiment: 10 years and counting Posted 04/21/2015
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The Water Wagon: A cool lesson in sustainability Posted 09/04/2014
To book the Water Wagon or see scheduled events, head to our Water Wagon web page. --- Read more » -
East Johnson Street: No Ordinary Construction Zone Posted 06/30/2014
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. Read more » -
Major public works project set to begin on north side Posted 06/02/2014
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 even first looks. Read more » -
When winter's over: the lasting impact of road salt Posted 03/24/2014
(For more information on the impact of road salt in Wisconsin and what you can do to help, head to www.WiSaltWise.com.) "Ominous trend" Read more » -
The long road to smart meters Posted 01/29/2014
Out of the dark ages In 2010, Madison Water Utility had a decision to make. The device it had been using for decades to record water use inside Madison homes was about to become obsolete. "They were going to quit manufacturing our Read-o-Matic system that was first introduced in 1958," recalls MWU customer service manager Robin Piper. "We knew we had to come up with a new way to read meters." Read more » -
Why all the main breaks? Posted 01/08/2014
Aging infrastructure meets extreme weather It's 1:00 a.m. on a brutally cold Monday morning, and the call comes in – a six-inch wide water main has ruptured beneath East Badger Road. It's the first of 8 main break calls that will push Madison Water Utility crews to work back-to-back shifts for the next 24 hours. Read more » -
Madison getting its first new water well in a decade Posted 11/27/2013
Slowly but surely It's not easy to drill a 915-foot hole – it takes weeks of cold, wet, muddy work. "You have to go slow to get it straight," says Madison Water Utility design and construction engineer Dennis Cawley. "You don't drill rock out fast." Read more » -
Madison Water Utility builds new water mains -- inside the old ones Posted 10/31/2013
Embracing new technology Imagine Badger Rd. completely gutted – nothing but dirt and gravel, impassable for months. Same story for West Mifflin St. and Lake Mendota Drive. It's what would have happened had Madison Water Utility chosen to dig up and replace the aging water mains that run beneath those streets. Read more » -
Well hunters: Finding Madison's long-hidden private wells Posted 10/22/2013
Going door-to-door Kevin Miller has been knocking on a lot of doors lately, but he's not selling anything. He's searching for something. I usually say, 'I'm here to look for private wells.' And then I get the questions, 'Why would you be doing that?'" Read more » -
Bad Medicine Posted 10/07/2013
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 supply. But it's happening in cities across the country, especially those that get their water from lakes and rivers. Read more »