Badger HomeownerWisconsin home guide

What's in Your Tap Water

Madison-area tap water comes from dozens of deep wells, and each one is a little different. Pick your utility and well to see its hardness, PFAS, sodium and more next to the federal limits, and get the right number for your softener. Covers Madison and 18 nearby utilities.

  • Last checked
  • Every fact linked to its official source
  • Independent. How We Research

Water Quality Lookup

Pick your water utility, then your well. In Madison, not sure which well serves you? Enter your address in Madison Water Utility's wells serving my address lookup, or type your neighborhood here.(City of Madison)

Madison numbers are from each well's report, updated April 2026, and cover 2025 unless noted.(City of Madison) Most Madison addresses get water from one to three wells, and the mix changes with the season and when a nearby well is down, so check every well the lookup lists.(City of Madison)

Other utilities: numbers are each well's most recent test in the Wisconsin DNR's public drinking water records, mostly treated water leaving the well house. Test dates differ by contaminant and are shown next to each number; some go back to 2017. The PFAS total for these utilities is our sum of the compounds the lab detected, not a figure the utility publishes.(Wisconsin DNR) Your utility's annual water quality report has its official summary.

The Short Version

  • Madison Water Utility says its water met all federal and state standards in 2025.(City of Madison) Its wells draw from a deep sandstone aquifer, and each serves its own part of the city.(City of Madison)
  • The water is chlorinated (not chloraminated) and fluoridated. The 2025 fluoride average was 0.63 mg/L against a 0.7 target.(City of Madison)(2025 water quality report)
  • Hard: very. Madison's FAQ calls it 18 to 20 grains per gallon,(City of Madison) but the well reports run from 16 to 34.(City of Madison) Hardness isn't a health issue.(City of Madison)
  • Sodium and chloride are rising at several wells, mostly from road salt put down years ago. The utility asks residents to set softeners to the correct hardness.(2025 water quality report)
  • Nitrate topped out at 4.0 mg/L in 2025, under the 10 mg/L limit.(2025 water quality report)(EPA) PCE, a dry-cleaning solvent, reached 2.7 µg/L at a few wells, under its 5 µg/L limit.(2025 water quality report)
  • Manganese and iron stain laundry and color water. Four wells have filters that remove more than 95% of both.(2025 water quality report) The utility's own goal is lower than EPA's: iron above 0.1 mg/L or manganese above 20 µg/L can cause colored water.(City of Madison)
  • Wells being worked on: Well 12 is closed for reconstruction from May 2026 to about summer 2027,(City of Madison) and Well 19 got a new iron, manganese and radium filter, so its numbers here are from 2024.(City of Madison)

PFAS

  • Madison tests every active well for 25 PFAS twice a year.(City of Madison) In 2025, at least one PFAS showed up at six wells. PFOA peaked at 2.0 parts per trillion (Well 14) and PFOS at 1.9 (Well 16).(2025 water quality report)
  • The highest total, 49 ppt at Well 9, is more than 90% PFBA, which has no federal limit.(City of Madison)(2025 water quality report)
  • Well 15, shut down in 2019 over PFAS likely from firefighting foam at Truax Field, came back in September 2025 with a $5.9 million treatment system.(City of Madison)(City of Madison) Its treated water has tested non-detect.(Well 15 report) The City's well list still calls it out of service.
  • The federal rules: EPA's 2024 rule set limits of 4 ppt each for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for three others, and a limit for mixtures, with utilities given until 2029 to comply.(EPA) In May 2026, EPA proposed keeping the PFOA and PFOS limits with an option for two more years,(EPA) and proposed dropping the other limits.(EPA) As of October 2026 both are still proposals on EPA's site.
  • Wisconsin has had a 70 ppt standard for PFOA and PFOS since 2022.(Wisconsin DNR) DNR is updating its rule to adopt the federal limits; its timeline shows the update taking effect July 1, 2026.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Madison says no well exceeds state or proposed national PFAS standards.(City of Madison)

Lead

  • Madison replaced more than 8,000 lead service lines with copper, all known ones by 2012.(City of Madison)(City of Madison) As of November 4, 2025, it lists none left. You can check your address on the service line map.(City of Madison)
  • Records can be wrong, so lead lines still turn up now and then, often when a house sells. The utility pays half the cost of replacing one, up to $3,000: call 608-266-4651.(City of Madison)
  • Check your pipe where it comes through the basement wall: scratch it with a screwdriver and hold a magnet to it. Shiny silver and not magnetic is lead; penny-colored is copper; dull gray and magnetic is galvanized steel.(City of Madison)
  • Inside the house: lead pipes were common in Madison homes until 1929 and lead solder until 1986. Faucets and valves installed before 2015 can contain up to 8% lead, even labeled lead-free.(2025 water quality report)(City of Madison)
  • In the utility's 2023 tap testing, the 90th-percentile lead level was 1.8 ppb, against a federal action level of 15. None of 50 homes was above it.(City of Madison)
  • Testing your tap: the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene charges $38 for a lead test (prices effective July 1, 2026). Order a kit at 608-224-6202.(State Lab of Hygiene) Madison suggests two samples: one after water sits overnight and one after normal use.(City of Madison) Public Health Madison & Dane County closed its water lab October 1, 2025, though some City pages still list it.(PHMDC)
  • Use cold water for drinking and baby formula. A filter for lead should be certified to reduce lead.(City of Madison)

Hardness and Softeners

  • Use your well's number, from the lookup above, to set your softener. The sewerage district says not to rely on test strips.(MMSD) One grain per gallon is 17.1 mg/L.(MMSD)
  • You don't need perfectly soft water. The district cites 3 to 4 grains as enough to protect a water heater, and a blending valve or softening only hot water cuts salt use.(MMSD)
  • A typical house should use less than one 40-pound bag of salt a month. Softener salt is about 57% of the salt reaching the district's treatment plant, which can't remove chloride, so it ends up in lakes and streams.(MMSD)
  • Demand-based softeners (metered or sensor) use less salt and water than timer models. Potassium chloride has no advantage here; it still adds chloride. Salt-free devices need state approval.(MMSD) Softeners last about 15 years.(MMSD)
  • Madison suggests keeping an unsoftened tap for drinking and cooking.(City of Madison) The district has a free softener self-check.(MMSD)
  • Rebates: none for homeowners right now. The district's homeowner pilot has ended, and its current softener grant covers businesses and buildings with three or more units.(MMSD)(MMSD)

Filters

  • Public Health Madison & Dane County doesn't recommend filters or bottled water for Madison's PFAS levels. If you want to cut PFAS anyway, Wisconsin DHS points to activated carbon or reverse osmosis.(City of Madison)
  • In Madison's home-filter study, faucet-mounted filters worked best, and single-stage under-sink filters didn't remove PFBA.(City of Madison)
  • For sodium, Wisconsin DHS suggests 20 mg/L as a level to watch if you're on a low-sodium diet.(Wisconsin DHS) Softened water adds more.

Brown Water and Odd Smells

  • Brown or red water is iron and manganese sediment stirred up in the mains. Run a cold basement tap at full force until it clears.(City of Madison) The utility flushes mains in spring and summer.(City of Madison)
  • A rotten-egg smell usually comes from the drain, not the water. White crust after boiling is calcium from hard water and is harmless.(City of Madison)

Water Bills

  • The Public Service Commission sets Madison's water rates. Rates effective May 1, 2026: a $14.00 monthly base charge plus usage, and an average residential water charge of $38.81 a month.(City of Madison) That's up from $33.90 after a 9.9% increase.(City of Madison)
  • Sewer ($17.50 base plus $5.64 per 1,000 gallons), stormwater and other city charges share the bill but are set by the Common Council.(City of Madison)
  • Paying by card costs $2.95; eCheck is free. By phone: 1-877-822-8414.(City of Madison)

Suburbs

The lookup above covers 18 area utilities and systems. Every water utility must also publish a water quality report by July 1 each year,(PHMDC) and the sewerage district's hardness map covers most of Dane County.(MMSD) What stands out in DNR's latest tests:

  • Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills buy all their water from Madison; Madison's Well 7 report lists Maple Bluff and Well 14 lists Shorewood Hills. Fitchburg's Rimrock Road and Danville Drive areas are also on Madison water.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • PFAS is low everywhere: PFOA plus PFOS stays at or below about 2.7 parts per trillion, under EPA's 4 ppt limit for each, and most suburban wells show none.
  • Waunakee Well 2 tested above the 5 µg/L PCE limit in single samples (9.1 in April 2024, 5.3 to 6.8 in September 2025). Compliance is judged on a running average, DNR lists no violation, and the well is listed as temporarily out of service.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Verona Well 6 nitrate has run 6.4 to 9.9 mg/L since 2020, under the 10 mg/L limit, and DNR has it on frequent testing.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Salt: chloride is climbing at Middleton Well 3 (200 mg/L in September 2026) and Monona Wells 1 and 2 (about 150 to 160), below the 250 mg/L taste guideline.(Wisconsin DNR)(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Iron and manganese are above the staining guidelines at Windsor South Well 2 and Stoughton Well 6, below manganese's health level.(Wisconsin DNR)(Wisconsin DNR)
  • Softener settings some utilities publish: Sun Prairie 22.4 grains,(Sun Prairie Utilities) Fitchburg 16 grains,(City of Fitchburg) Verona 19.88 grains,(City of Verona) Monona an average of 24.5 grains.(City of Monona) Reports: Fitchburg, Middleton.

Private Wells

  • Test a private well for bacteria every year and whenever the taste, color or smell changes, and for nitrate every year. Don't use water over 10 mg/L nitrate for infants or formula.(Wisconsin DNR)
  • The State Lab of Hygiene charges $35 each for bacteria and nitrate tests (July 2026 prices).(State Lab of Hygiene) Public Health Madison & Dane County helps pick tests and read results at 608-242-6515, and screens households for the state's free well testing program.(PHMDC)
  • Inside Madison, a private well needs a $355 operating permit from the Water Utility (good up to five years) or must be sealed, and homes must connect to city water within 90 days of a sale.(City of Madison)

Radon in well water is covered in the radon guide.

Questions

Which well does my Madison address get water from?

Use Madison Water Utility's wells serving my address lookup. Most addresses get water from one to three wells, and the mix shifts with the season and when nearby wells are down, so treat it as an estimate.

How hard is Madison's water?

Very hard. Madison's own wells range from 16 to 34 grains per gallon in the utility's 2025 reports; Well 14, on the west side, is the hardest. Set your softener to the number for your wells, not a test strip.

Is there PFAS in Madison's tap water?

Some wells have low levels. In 2025, PFOA peaked at 2.0 parts per trillion and PFOS at 1.9, below EPA's 4 ppt limit for each. The highest total, 49 ppt at Well 9, is more than 90% PFBA, which has no federal limit. Madison says no well exceeds state or proposed national standards.

Does Madison still have lead pipes?

As of November 2025 the utility lists no known lead service lines; it replaced more than 8,000 of them. Old records can be wrong, so one occasionally turns up. If you find one, the utility offers a rebate of half the replacement cost, up to $3,000. Faucets and solder in older homes can still contain lead.

Do I need a water filter in Madison?

Public Health Madison & Dane County doesn't recommend filters or bottled water for Madison's PFAS levels. If you want one anyway, Wisconsin DHS points to activated carbon or reverse osmosis for PFAS, and a filter certified for lead if lead is the concern.

How much is the average Madison water bill?

The average residential water charge is $38.81 a month under rates the Public Service Commission approved, effective May 1, 2026. Sewer, stormwater and other city charges are on the same bill and set separately.