History  

The Milwaukee Water Works was established on April 18, 1871. The utility began pumping water from Lake Michigan on Sept. 14, 1874. We are proud to serve as the longest continuously operating water utility in the State of Wisconsin.

• Read the 1868 plan for a water works: "Report on Milwaukee Water Works by E.F. Chesbrough, Civil Engineer, to His Honor The Mayor and the Committee on Water Works of the City of Milwaukee. October 28th, 1868"
   
• Milwaukee Water Works History brochure for our 145th anniversary in 2019
   

• The North Point Water Tower

• The North Point Fountain in North Point Water Tower Park

• Love Rock

• Riverside Pumping Station
   
• Historic documents from MWW files
   

• A Century of Water
  Read about the origin and development of the Milwaukee Water Works in "A Century of Milwaukee Water" by Elmer W. Becker, Former Superintendent, 1964-1972. The 29 chapters are divided here in thirds. Find the Table of Contents on page 2.

• Milwaukee, A City Built on Water
  Historian John Gurda explores how the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan spurred Milwaukee's growth. (A production of Wisconsin Eye Public Affairs Network in collaboration with Milwaukee Public Television.)

• Origins of the Milwaukee Water Works, by Bruce Jordan. "Milwaukee History," The Magazine of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Volume 9 Spring, 1986; Number 1. Copyright, 1986 by the Milwaukee County Historical Society 

• Annual Inspection expedition by the Mayor and Common Council 1895

Fun Stuff

• Enjoy your coffee in a North Point Water Tower commemorative cup! 

• Milwaukee Bucks Hydrants
  
  
• Debunking the bubbler myth - as told by the Sheboygan Press
   
• Where did "bubbler" come from? - as told by the Journal Sentinel 
   
• Jewel sings about Milwaukee In her July 2010 concert at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Jewel sang all about our beer and our water
   

North Point Water Tower by W. H. Sherman       

1914 Truck at City Hall