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City of Madison Water
If there is a problem with my tap water, what should I do?
Home-owners:
- Call the Water Utility at 266-4651
- Call the Public Health Madison and Dane County at 266-4821
Tenants:
- Call the Building Inspection Unit at 266-4551
If your water is brown or cloudy, Water Utility may be flushing the mains. Let water run for three to four minutes until clear. If not clear, call Water Utility at 266-4651.
In 2007, the Water Utility will continue cleaning water mains through unidirectional flushing. For information on when your neighborhood or water main will be flushed, call Water Utility at 266-4651 or visit www.cityofmadison/com/water/plansWater.cfm.
Manganese
Information on the health concerns related to manganese can be found at: www.cityofmadison.com/health/envhealth/manganeset.html.
Information on flushing and testing can be found on the Water Utility's website at www.cityofmadison.com/water.
Fluoride
The City of Madison water has approximately one part per million of
fluoride added to it. This is closely monitored.
Private Wells
Why and when should I test
my well water?
Madison Water Utility tests their water
regularly to ensure it's safe, but it's up to private well owners
to test their water annually.
You should test your well water every year for coliform bacteria and nitrates. This is especially important if you are pregnant or have an infant under six months of age. Water should also be tested if you notice any change in taste, odor or appearance, or after flooding. It's important to test well water annually because the test results may vary over time.
For more information on getting your well water tested, contact the Public Health Madison and Dane County at 266-4821.
The laboratory performing your well water tests can also recommend other tests that you might want to have run on your water, depending on your well's location, age, etc.
LAKES AND SURFACE WATER RUN-OFF
The Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC) maintains a routine surveillance and sampling schedule of area lakes, streams, primary and secondary outfalls, and point and non-point source run-off to ground surface, wetlands, and surface waters. The samples are analyzed in the PHMDC laboratory for selected metals and inorganic indicators of environmental conditions. The PHMDC currently regulates 165 permitted point source discharges of nonstorm water to the five Madison area lakes.
Together with the City Engineering Division and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), PHMDC is participating in a study that evaluates the benefits of street sweeping on water quality. The PHMDC laboratory performs analysis of storm water for nutrients and metals for the study.
The PHMDC staff collects groundwater samples for lab analysis at five closed sanitary landfills in the City of Madison. Groundwater monitoring wells are sampled semi-annually using state-of-the-art dedicated bladder pumps and low-flow sampling techniques. The PHMDC laboratory analyzes the samples for metals, nutrients, and inorganic indicator parameters. Organic analyses are coordinated with an outside laboratory. This work is performed to ensure that the contaminants potentially present in the landfill do not migrate to the lakes and groundwater.
SWIMMINGBeaches
When beaches are open (June-August), they are
tested every week. The Public Health Madison and Dane County issues Beach
Reports
each Thursday during the swimming season.
The Beach Reports grade the beaches on quality of water in the beach area (scale from 1 to 4) and have summaries on beach issues, such as water conditions (e.g., algae, lake). The beach conditions are communicated to the public by posting signs (English and Espanol) at the beaches, via a web site, a telephone hotline, 608-294-5356, and water quality announcements through the radio.