More than a thousand people access city’s new online water conservation tool

Madison Water Utility has become the first utility in Wisconsin – and one of only a handful across the country – to allow customers to view their monthly, daily, even hourly water usage information online. So far, more than a thousand people have logged on to the utility’s website to track their water use.
 
Madison Water Utility customer service manager Robin Piper says the new online tool should go a long way toward helping people conserve.
 
“We’ve been getting many calls and emails from people asking, ‘When are we going to be able to see our usage?’ The novelty may wear off for a few customers, but I think there are some who are truly interested in seeing how the water that they use impacts their bills,” says Piper. “You need the knowledge of how you’re using your water and when you’re using your water to be able to conserve it.”
 
Madison Water Utility customers can sign up for an online Customer Care account to view their detailed usage information and can also export that data into a PDF or Excel spreadsheet. The web-based tool works on home computers, tablets and cell phones.
 
“It’s such a drastic change between what our customers used to be able to find out when they got their bill versus what they can now,” says Piper. “You can go in and see right down to the hour. You can do comparisons month to month or year to year. We’re making available to our customers data that’s really theirs.”
 
The online conservation tool was made possible by Madison’s new wireless water metering system. Since the new meter installations were completed last year, Madison Water Utility has also moved from billing customers just twice a year to monthly billing.
 

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