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Founded in 1882. Krishna Kumar, General Manager.

Well 12 Reconstruction

June 11, 2026 Update

MWU was approved for complete project financing through the Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Loan Program. 

View past project updates »

Project Details

Location

801 South Whitney Way
Madison, WI 53711

Status

Construction

Estimated Schedule

– Summer 2027

Alder District

  • District 11

Project Information

Purpose: Rebuild aging well facility; rebuild and appropriately resize water reservoir; upgrade and add pumps, piping, and facility equipment for facility resilience and enhanced dual-pressure zone pumping capabilities.

Budget: $5 million (facility); $5 million (reservoir).

Funding: Approved for complete financing through the Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.

Well 12
Well 12 on Madison's West Side

Project Background

Madison Water Utility’s (MWU) Unit Well 12 (801 South Whitney Way) was established in 1958.  It operates year-round and delivers water to Madison’s Near West neighborhoods including University Hill Farms, Sunset Village, Midvale Heights, Westmorland, Crawford-Marlborough-Nakoma, Orchard Ridge, Summit Woods, Meadowood, Allied Dunn’s Marsh, Arbor Hills and Leopold. In 2024, Well 12 pumped 550 million gallons compared to its 5-year average of 559 million gallons annually.  The site consists of a well pump house and a detached 150,000 gallon above-ground water reservoir, both of which are nearing 70 years of life.

As originally constructed, Unit Well 12 operated in Pressure Zone 7 of MWU’s water system.  MWU’s Master Plan documentation dating back to 2006 has identified that system operations would benefit by upgrading Unit Well 12 to a dual-pressure zone well by making pipeline and facility improvements to allow it the ability to supply water to Pressure Zones 7 and 8.  This capability was added in 2022 with a smaller project; this more comprehensive project will enhance the dual-pressure zone capabilities while upgrading the well and reservoir buildings.

Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH) has been hired as the professional engineering consultant firm to complete the project plans and specifications, and guide construction administration.

Well 12 rendering
Rendering of updated building design

Project Timeline

Below is the timeline of the Well 12 Reconstruction project.

  1. 2014-2015:

    MWU sought to make facility improvements to Unit Well 12’s well house that would allow for dual-pressure zone operations and bring the building into compliance with modern building code requirements, including but not limited to isolated chemical rooms; an extension of the deep well discharge piping; and an isolated bathroom.

    The concept that was developed aimed to build an addition onto the existing facility and rework parts of the interior existing building to accommodate new pumps and piping.  This was viewed as a balance between cost and need, however when the project was bid for construction in 2015, bids that were received exceeded the project’s budget by an unexpectedly high amount.  Contractors cited the difficulty in working within and maintaining much of the existing (and aging) structure as one of the key drivers behind the high construction bids.  MWU elected to reject the bids for this project concept and reassess the potential for a complete facility reconstruction project instead.

  2. 2016-2018:

    MWU proceeded with an expanded project scope of work at Unit Well 12 that would include a complete reconstruction of the well house and incorporate the needs addressed in the 2014-2015 project concept, with the added benefit of a completely new and updated building.  The project design was completed and bid in 2018, however due to emerging financial concerns the decision was made to retract the bid posting until financial conditions improved.

    In parallel with these efforts, however, MWU did complete a series of hydraulic pipeline improvements to the water system in and around Unit Well 12, so that it could support the dual-pressure zone capabilities when the facility was upgraded.

  3. 2019-2023:

    MWU’s updated Master Plan document continued to identify the complete Unit Well 12 project as high priority work.  In parallel with an updated Financial Plan document, the project was rescheduled for construction from 2026 to 2027. Ahead of the major project, however, MWU made a booster pump upgrade along with a few site modifications in order to take advantage of some of the dual-pressure zone piping that had been installed in 2017.  That work was completed in 2022.

  4. 2024:

    To fund the upcoming Unit Well 12 project, MWU filed its Intent to Apply (ITA) with the Wisconsin DNR for the 2026 fiscal year of Wisconsin’s Safe Drinking Water Loan Program (SDWLP).  The ITA also added work to replace the site’s reservoir, in addition to the pump house. 

    In anticipation of 2025 redesign work on the project, MWU initiated preliminary work to re-evaluate their “shelved” plans and specifications from 2018 and assess opportunities to revise those documents with modern design standards.  The preliminary work also further analyzed the potential for replacing Unit Well 12’s reservoir, through the lens of hydraulic benefits; sizing; cost; and feasibility.

  5. 2025:

    With recommendations from the 2024 reservoir analyses, MWU has elected to move forward with the updated pump house design from the previous bidding process, as well as a new design for replacing the site’s reservoir.

    MWU officially applied for 2026 SDWLP funding/financing eligibility ahead of the June 30th deadline, and is awaiting final word on that application later this summer.

    MWU will be moving forward with other project application and certification requirements this summer and fall, including:

    • Certificate of Authority to Construction from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC)
    • Conditional Zoning Use from City of Madison Zoning
    • City of Madison Urban Design Commission Approval
    • Wisconsin DNR Approval
    • Held a public information meeting on November 20, 2025 with project area residents in coordination with the project’s district Alder (Bill Tishler). 

  6. 2026

    • MWU was approved for complete project financing through the Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Loan Program. 
    • Bidding was performed this spring, through the City of Madison's Public Works competitive bidding process:
    • Preconstruction coordination and necessary construction approvals are underway as of June.
    • Building demolition and construction site mobilization is scheduled for early fall.

     

Meetings and Legislation

List of past and upcoming meetings. 

Landmarks Commission - 10/6, 5:00 PM (Virtual)

Consideration of the demolition permit of the existing well house and reservoir.

Urban Design Commission - 11/5, 4:30 PM (virtual)

Consideration for building, reservoir, and site designs

Plan Commission - 11/17, 5:30 PM (Virtual)

Consideration for rezoning and conditional use of the site.

Water Utility Board - 11/24, 4:30 PM (119 E. Olin Ave., Conference Rooms A&B)

Consideration for rezoning and conditional use of the site.

Common Council - 11/25, 6:30 PM (Virtual & 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 201)

Consideration for rezoning and conditional use of the site.

Public Information Meeting, 11/20, 7:00 PM (4020 Mineral Point Road)

Present, discuss and collect feedback on the project.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is this project needed?

Well 12 is nearing 70 years of service/age, and is in need of the stated upgrades in order to continue supplying water to the area as reliably as possible. Upgrading the pipes/pumps to allow for redundancy and enhanced two-zone capability increases MWU’s ability to deliver water where and when it is needed. 

Rebuilding the facility itself provides an opportunity to create a modern building that will meet all current building codes and serve the area for decades to come.  The reservoir, when rebuilt, will be more appropriately sized to allow modern pumping equipment to operate on a more efficient schedule.

What are the contingency plans to provide water while the pumps at Well 12 are offline during reconstruction?

MWU operates a resilient system, providing flexibility during times of maintenance or system upgrades. Similarly safe, high-quality water will be provided from other system wells and pump stations during reconstruction, and customers in the area should not notice any significant difference.

Will traffic be affected during construction activities?

Construction for this project will primarily be contained on the well site, however there will be some added traffic due to materials being hauled to and from the site, as well as construction vehicles entering and exiting the driveway.  Once a more specific construction schedule is established, we will provide notice if there are any activities that would have a more notable effect to traffic in the area.

Once this project is complete, will there be a lot of additional traffic to and from the facility?

There will not be any notable increase in traffic due to the completion of this project.  Routine staff visits for water quality sampling will continue as normal.  Maintenance and chemical delivery schedules will also be generally unchanged.

Are there any risks to the quality of water drawn from Well 12 due to factors such as road salt or spills/accidents on the adjacent portion of the Beltline Highway?

Well 12 provides water of excellent quality and the plans to make improvements at the site reflect a commitment to maintaining this quality. Interestingly, Well 12 has not shown impacts of road salt that have been seen at some other wells. MWU’s wellhead protection ordinance provides a zoning overlay that restricts certain activities near the well which could otherwise potentially affect the water. Potential impacts arising from Beltline traffic and/or accidents represent manageable risks.

Project Updates

June 11, 2026 Update

MWU was approved for complete project financing through the Wisconsin Safe Drinking Water Loan Program. 

November 6, 2025 Update

The Well 12 Reconstruction Project public information meeting will take place on November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM at 4020 Mineral Point Road. All members of the public are welcome to attend.

The meeting will include a presentation from the project team, discussion, and time for residents to provide feedback directly to the project team. 

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