City of Middleton
Water Conservation Efforts
WPUI Presentation
6/25/15
Background
 2nd most compact City in Dane County
 49.3% of housing in multi-unit structures (2010)
 One of the 1st New Urbanist neighborhoods in the Midwest
 Net provider of jobs to the region (8,616 in 2010)
Background
 20% of our land in open space
 Stringent stormwater management practices in place
 Growing trail network and Bike/Ped Plan in place
 Sustainability Committee formed in early 2008.
Sustainable City Plan
 Systems approach
 7 key categories of focus
 Energy
 Water
 Waste
 Transportation
 Land Use
 Economy / Food / Fair Trade
 Public Outreach and Education
 http://ci.middleton.wi.us/DocumentCenter/View/48
Water Vision Statement
“Middleton has an abundance of clean water, including
surface water and groundwater resources. All public and private
users limit their use of groundwater while also seeking to
maximize infiltration of stormwater so that there is
equilibrium between water used and water returned to the
ground. The City is vigilant in its efforts to keep harmful
substances out of all water resources and to ensure that
development is not vulnerable to flooding.”
Water Indicators
2013 Water Conservation Challenge
 148 households
 Saved 2,202,300 gallons of water or 26% of
their baseline usage*
 Winning idea for innovation prize “Discounts
are given to those who purchase in large
volumes as in bulk buying. Unless we stop
giving discounts to those who use really large
amounts of water, high volume users will have
no financial incentive to conserve water.”
*Please note that baseline year was 2012, a drought year
2014 Water Utility Rate Request
 Water Utility planned to submit rate request in 2014.
Above:This chart shows the average residential gallons used per customer per year by communities in Dane
County. Middleton had the third highest average usage in 2012 (afterWaunakee andWestport).
Water Rate Recommendations
1. That the Middleton Water Utility bill monthly
rather than quarterly.
2. Recommend that the Water Utility go to an
inclining (conservation) block rate structure for
residential.
3. Recommend that the Water Utility bill multi-family
housing units as a separate fee category and that the
multi-family be placed on a uniform rate structure.
4. Recommend that the Water Utility put in place a
rebate program for efficient toilets.
5. Recommend that the Water Utility put in place a
water audit program and rebate program for a select
number of commercial customers per year.
Programs go into effect July 1
$20,000
annual
budget for
residential
$20,000
annual
budget for
commercial
Questions?
Contact:
Abby Attoun-Tucker, AICP
Asst. Director Community Development
City of Middleton, WI
[email protected]
821-8343
cityofmiddleton.wi.us/waterconservation