Waupun residents and businesses use over 300 million gallons of water each year. Water is vital to our community and we are fortunate in Waupun to have a high-quality water supply. One of our priorities is protecting this natural resource!
There are five deep wells in Waupun reaching down to the St. Peter, Prairie du Chien, Trempealeau, Franconia, Galesville, Eau Claire and Mr. Simon aquifers (in the limestone formation). Water pumped from those depths comes out nice and cold; about 52 degrees year 'round. The water is treated and tested daily to ensure Waupun residents and businesses continue to receive a safe and plentiful water supply.
Our Goal is Safe, Healthy and Reliable Water for Your Use
In 2007, Waupun Utilities placed into service a new water treatment facility featuring reverse osmosis softening. The first of its kind in Wisconsin, this new plant reflects our commitment to keeping residents safe, businesses running, and strengthening the future of our community.
How Reverse Osmosis Works
Osmosis describes the natural process in which substances dissolved in water tent to move from high concentration toward dilute concentration. In reverse osmosis (RO), this process is reversed through the application of pressure across a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane is specially designed to allow water (permeate) to pass through while retraining the dissolved substances like salts and hardness (concentrate).
The product of RO is ultra-pure water that is free of hardness and most dissolved contaminants. The retained salts and hardness are rejected from the membrane and sent to waste. The membranes in a production RO system are configured in a spiral arrangement contained in pressure vessels that are stacked in long tubes.
Water Treatment Process
1. Well
- Raw water is drawn from a series of wells that are constructed to tap into a reservoir of water underlying the City, called an aquifer.
- The aquifer is a layer of sandstone, more than 800 feet below the ground.
- The sandstone naturally filters the water, providing a very clean source of water.
2. Iron Filters
- The raw water from the wells passes through filters to remove dissolved minerals like iron and manganese.
- These minerals could negatively affect the water's taste and cause straining in household plumbing fixtures.
3. Reverse Osmosis
- Most of the water passes through a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis (RO) membrane system.
- The RO system removes dissolved minerals, called hardness. It also provides protection against a variety of potentially harmful contaminants should they ever be present.
4. De-gas/Blending
- Ultra-pure water from the RO system, called permeate, is aerated to remove dissolved gases that might affect water quality.
- The water is blended with a side stream from the iron filters to achieve a stable product with the correct hardness balance.
5. Finished Water Production
- Additives to the blended water include small amounts of chlorine to maintain required disinfectant levels, fluoride to promote healthy teeth, and base to stabilize the water.
- The finished product is then ready for consumption.
6. Finished Water Delivery
- Finished water is pumped into an underground pipe network that delivers the water to users.
- The high service pumps are capable of delivering water at peak rates encountered during periods of heavy use.
7. Water Distribution
- The Utility maintains a water delivery system to provide a reliable supply of water to all users.
- Elevated storage tanks in the system ensure adequate supply pressure and provide storage for emergencies, such as fire protection.
Enjoy!
Meter Reading & Billing
View our Residential, Commercial and Industrial Water Rates
Similar to reading your electric meter, Waupun Utilities collects usage data from your water meter with automatic meter infrastructure (AMI). Our data collection devices read your meter from a distance and store that information in a format that is then downloaded into our billing software to help produce your monthly billing statement.
In some cases or during certain times of year, our data collection devices are not able to communicate with your meter to deliver consumption data. In that event, we provide you with an estimated billing statement, based on your normal usage history for that time of year. Any difference between the amount actually used and the estimated amount billed is corrected automatically when the next regular meter reading is obtained. Ultimately, you pay only for the amount of water actually used.
Water Quality
Waupun Utilities routinely monitors the city’s drinking water according to Federal and State regulations. Our constant goal is to provide you with a safe and dependable supply of drinking water. We want you to understand the efforts we make to continually improve the water treatment process and protect our water resources. We are committed to ensuring the quality of your water.
View our most recent Water Quality Report
If you have any questions about this report, or concerning your water utility, please contact us at 920-324-7920.
