The City of Madison water system is supplied by four wells with an average depth of 150 feet. The system, serving the entire city, has a combined pumping capacity of 1,900 gallons per minute and an overhead storage capacity of 200,000 gallons.
The City works directly with Nebraska Health and Human Services to ensure that quality drinking water is available to its residents. The City is required to continuously test the water for a variety of contaminants. The Annual Water Quality Report, including the water test results, are available for public inspection.
If you notice an unusually high amount of water usage in a given month, check whether you have a toilet running, whether you have a leaky faucet, whether your water softener has a stuck valve, or how often you’ve used your lawn sprinklers, etc.
The City of Madison Wastewater Treatment facility handles the wastewater collection, all lift stations, and the operation of the wastewater treatment plant. The treatment plant, a two-cell aerated lagoon system with ultraviolet disinfection, has a total capacity of 15 million gallons. After completing the entire treatment cycle, the City of Madison discharges its wastewater into the Union Creek.
Unlike other city services, the sanitary sewer system is dependent on compliance from city residents and businesses to operate efficiently before it even reaches the Wastewater Treatment Plant. If you or your neighbor puts inappropriate items down the drain, it can have a negative impact on you or your neighbor’s sewer, or it can create problems for people a block or more away from you.
Sanitary sewer blockages can cause plugged and overflowing toilets, poorly draining sinks and showers, raw sewage backing up through your drain, health hazards and nuisance odors, etc. In extreme cases, inappropriate material may require additional testing and treatment before the wastewater can be released into the waterway, potentially compromising its ability to function during high demand situations.
Also, be mindful of what you put down your garbage disposal. If you question whether something is appropriate to put down the drain, throw it in the trash instead.
Regular city maintenance involves flushing the sewer lines. City crews will also periodically send a camera through the sewer lines to inspect for damage or to identify and treat potential problem areas. Ensuring that the sewer system continues to run efficiently requires more than City involvement. We appreciate your efforts in protecting the public sanitary sewer system.
