Milwaukee Water Works - Profile

North Point Tower A national landmark, Milwaukee's 175-foot Victorian Gothic tower guards the bluff above Lake Michigan on North Avenue. It was part of the first water works in 1874. The tower houses a tall open standpipe that absorbed pulsations of water from steam-driven engines in the pumping station below the hill.

The Milwaukee Water Works is owned by the City of Milwaukee, and treats Lake Michigan water to provide pure and fresh drinking water to a population of 867,000 in 16 communities. These include Milwaukee, Brown Deer, Butler, Franklin, Greendale, Greenfield, Hales Corners, Menomonee Falls, Mequon, New Berlin, Shorewood, St. Francis, Thiensville, Wauwatosa, West Allis and West Milwaukee. The utility sells water to the Milwaukee County Grounds facilities. 

Milwaukee is a national leader in producing high quality water and water quality monitoring. The Milwaukee Water Works tests source and treated drinking water for over 500 contaminants while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires tests for only 90. The monitoring is done as a precaution to ensure safe water, to collect baseline data for study, to help increase the understanding of how contaminants may affect public health, and to meet future regulations.

The Milwaukee Water Works has expanded its water quality monitoring and screening activities to include organisms and contaminants that are not yet regulated but considered of “emerging concern.” Milwaukee was one of the first utilities in the U.S., starting in 2004, to test source and drinking water for endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) and in 2005, to test for pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). None have been found in Milwaukee drinking water. either testing nor disclosure of results is required under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In 2008, the Associated Press (AP) cited Milwaukee as one of only 28 major utilities in the U.S. to test source and treated water for emerging contaminants such as EDCs and PPCPs. Milwaukee was the first U.S. utility to post the test results on the Internet. Milwaukee's water quality monitoring system was in full compliance five years ahead of time with new EPA regulations to control disinfection byproducts.

Since 1993, the Milwaukee Water Works has invested $362 million in its infrastructure, as reported to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, to ensure a reliable supply of high quality drinking water. The Milwaukee Water Works treats Lake Michigan water with a multiple-step process to protect public health. Ozone gas, one of the most powerful disinfectants available, destroys microorganisms, reduces chlorinated disinfection byproducts, and removes taste and odor. Coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and biologically active filtration remove additional particles.

Average daily pumpage in 2011 was 101 million gallons. Total annual water sales for 2011 were 32 billion gallons. Residential water use for 2011 was 46 gallons per person per day. The cost of water per household is $180 per year; the EPA says the national average is $500 per year.

Only tap water delivers public health protection, water for fire suppression, and support for the economy and the quality of life we enjoy.