Water Utility to Begin Construction of Filter Building

Madison-Construction will begin during the week of September 29 on the building addition that will house an iron and manganese filter at a City water well on the far east side of Madison. Work on the addition to Unit Well 29 will continue through the winter with the filter due to be fully operational by June 1, 2009. Ground water minerals have been a problem at this well since its start-up in 2005. Naturally occurring iron and manganese exist at levels that can discolor the water yellow, orange, or brown, and, although not at a concentration that causes a health concern, the minerals can stain laundry and plumbing fixtures. As a result, the utility is installing a filter to remove the iron and manganese. Unit Well 29 had been previously operated only on summer emergency stand-by status, but because of lower seasonal demand this year, the well was placed on reserve supply in late June, and no water has been pumped into the distribution system since then. The well is currently shut down. After the filter is installed, the well is expected to pump year round and deliver about 1.6 million gallons per day to east side residents. The contractor for the filter building is Staab Construction of McFarland, WI. Cost for the entire filter project at this well is $1.5 million. Customers wanting to receive regular updates on Madison's drinking water quality can subscribe to the Drinking Water Quality Listserv at http://lavos.wiscnet.net/mailman/listinfo/drinkingwaterquality. In addition, information on which well(s) serve a specific address can be found on our website, www.madisonwater.org, under the Water Quality tab, or by calling the Water Utility. #

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