Facilities
The City of Sun Prairie is served by seven deep wells throughout the city. The well depths range from 860 feet to 905 feet. Combined pumpage is 8750 gallons per minute. All wells are checked and monitored daily, and water is treated with chlorine and fluoride before entering the water system. Water samples and test results are sent to the State according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requirements. Read the most current Water Quality Report here.
Water storage for the Sun Prairie water system includes three in-ground reservoirs and three elevated water tanks, holding total reserve capacity of 2.8 million gallons. This is less than the peak 1-day pumpage of 3.5 million gallons of water from July 6, 2010.
Sun Prairie Utilities maintains approximately 166 miles of water main throughout the city. We try to schedule some aged water main replacement every year to keep our system safe and robust. Water mains can break with the ground shifting pressures of rapid changing temperatures, or age. Sometimes breaks are man-made with construction projects. If you see water bubbling from the street, please note the location and call our office at 837-5500.
Requests to locate and/ or exercise curb valves will be scheduled and require 2-3 business day's notice. All appropriate City of Sun Prairie building permits will be required before a water service valve can be turned off for a repair.
Hydrants
Our water crew maintains nearly 1,800 public fire hydrants within the Sun Prairie water system. These hydrants are a critical component to the City’s public safety. Please maintain proper clearance around any fire hydrant so as to not impede City of Sun Prairie Emergency Service personnel from access in the case of an emergency. Please keep items, shrubbery, and snow clear of all hydrants.
Flushing
Hydrant flushing is a release of water from fire hydrants. It is a controlled procedure that is vital to the general maintenance of Sun Prairie’s water distribution system.
Some utilities flush quite often, as much as monthly due to high mineral content, stagnant water, or other reasons. Fortunately, Sun Prairie does not have many iron or mineral issues. Sun Prairie Utilities flushes hydrants at least every other year as required by Wisconsin State code NR 810.13. In areas where water may move more slowly through the system, such as hydrants located on a dead-end main, hydrants are flushed twice annually to maintain water quality.
Primarily Sun Prairie Utilities flushes to operate and inspect each hydrant to ensure proper performance when needed and to replace damaged hydrants.
Visit our Hydrant Flushing FAQs for more information
Hydrant Meters
Sun Prairie Utilities will place, for a fee, a meter on a hydrant for temporary private use. Examples include filling an in-ground pool or new construction landscaping. The hose is not provided and cannot cross a city street. Requestors will be charged for the applicable set fee and any water usage through the meter. Current fees are listed on the Hydrant Meter Request Form. All hydrant meters must be set and removed by SPU employees and require appropriate backflow protection. To request a hydrant meter, fill out the Hydrant Meter Request Form and return it to the Sun Prairie Utilities business office at 125 West Main Street or email it to: hydrant_meters@myspu.org
Water Meter Upgrades
Sun Prairie Utilities' (SPU) over 12,000 water meters are located inside almost every building in the City of Sun Prairie, usually in the basement, to prevent freezing and damage. Some properties have an outside reader (OR) to allow an SPU meter reader to read the water meter every month without needing to access the inside meter or inconvenience our customers to gain entry.
SPU crew members are presently working to convert all water meters to a two-way communication device. SPU is transitioning to an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart meter where 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.
Sun Prairie Utilities is required by the State of Wisconsin to conduct periodic testing and maintenance on meters by a specific schedule. Please be cooperative and responsive if you receive a phone call or letter requesting an appointment to gain access to the meter inside your property. We will only need a few minutes inside to check or replace the meter.
AMI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
What does AMI stand for? AMI is an abbreviation for advanced metering infrastructure.
Why are these meters being installed? The meters help Sun Prairie Utilities operate cost-effectively and provide more proactive and reliable service to our customers. Advanced meters are essential in modernizing our community’s electric and water systems. The information collected by an advanced meter will be used for the same purpose as the data from the old meters: measuring consumption and preparing a bill.
Will my utility rates go up as a result of advanced metering? No. Sun Prairie Utilities' use of AMI is not anticipated to impact electric or water rates. This new technology will help bring savings to the Sun Prairie community. Staff will no longer need to drive around the city to read the meters. This eliminates fossil fuel emissions from meter reading vehicles and allows Sun Prairie Utilities staff to better utilize their time by providing other high-value services for our community.
How can advanced meters provide savings?
Sun Prairie Utilities’ use of advanced meters will help us operate more cost-effectively. The utility's old system required sending workers in trucks to complete monthly readings, conduct regular testing, and perform disconnections and reconnections.
The new meters eliminate the fossil fuel emissions from meter reading vehicles and allow SPU staff to better utilize their time by providing other high-value services for our community. Advanced meters can also quickly alert us to problems that drive up costs for our utilities and our customers. We will be able to more quickly alert customers to costly water leaks, and advanced meters also allow faster detection of instances of theft and meter tampering. Advanced meter data will enable our customers to analyze their electric and water consumption and take advantage of efficiency programs that will provide customers with more control over their usage and bills.
How does it work? AMI meters utilize a radio frequency to supply near real-time data on electric or water use to SPU’s system, which alerts us when electric service is interrupted and allows for responding staff to be notified automatically.
What’s the radio frequency? It is a safe, secure, and effective two-way radio frequency (RF) communications link.
What kind of two-way communications does it use? AMI meters primarily use radio frequency mesh networks for two-way communication, allowing them to send and receive data with a utility company through wireless signals. This allows for real-time monitoring of energy & water usage. It also enables features like remote disconnections, outage detection, and detailed usage analysis.
What assurance do I have that my privacy is protected? Wisconsin utilities are required to protect customer usage and billing information, and Sun Prairie Utilities works constantly to safeguard this data.
Are advanced meters safe? Yes. While advanced meters have become the subject of considerable attention for their use of low-level RF , in- depth review of the scientific literature by the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the small amount of RF energy produced by smart meters is not harmful to human health.¹
In the US, the Federal Communications Commission establishes the requirements for using the RF spectrum and acceptable exposure limits for the public. Sun Prairie Utilities’ advanced meters comply with and are far below these requirements and international requirements set by global bodies. Sun Prairie Utilities takes our customers' health and safety seriously, and we will never install equipment that jeopardizes their safety and well-being.
How significant is the RF signal from an advanced meter? The low level of RF emissions associated with advanced meters is far smaller than other common household items.² In fact, everyday devices such as cellular phones and microwave ovens typically cause far greater RF exposure than advanced meters.³ In terms of RF output, Sun Prairie Utilities’ advanced meters typically compare as follows to other common household wireless devices:⁴
- Smart Meter (900 MHz)
- Baby Monitor (7 times greater)
- Wii Remote Controller (30 times greater)
- Nintendo DS with WiFi (180 times greater)
- Wifi Access Point (400 times greater)
- Cordless Phone (1,000 times greater)
- Cell Phone (10,000 times greater)
Furthermore, RF exposure decreases with distance from the device. Sun Prairie Utilities’ advanced meters are typically installed on the exterior of a building for electricity or in the basement for water. In contrast, much higher-emitting devices such as microwaves and mobile phones are often operated a few inches or a few feet from the user. In addition, while other standard household devices emit RF signals far more frequently or even constantly, Sun Prairie Utilities’ advanced meters typically will only transmit a signal four times per day, and each transmission lasts for approximately one second.
(1) World Health Organization.
(2) Environmental Defense Fund.
(3) Richard A. Tell, Richard Tell Associates, Inc. (April 6, 2005).
(4) Based on FCC 47CFR1 . 1310, which averages exposure over 30 minutes of usage. Comparative data provided by Elster.