Kronenwetter Water Utility
715-693-5732 office
715-571-2697 after hours emergency
Water Utility Information
Water Utility Policies
Consumer Confidence Reports
YOUR UTILITY BILL
Your utility bill is sent out on a quarterly basis at the end of the billing cycle to the property owner for the service address, and will be due approximately 20 days after the bill is sent. Please keep in mind when mailing checks, that the day your payment reaches the Water Utility office is the day that it is processed and not the date on the check or the postmark on the envelope. Mail is not delivered to the Municipal Center on Saturdays.
Delinquent water and sewer bills accrue interest (late charges) every month (water and fire protection 1%, sewer 3%) until paid in full. Penalties are added on all amounts due on the first business day after the 20th of every month. Delinquent water and sewer penalties may not be waived.
If you are unable to pay your quarterly water bill by the due date please contact the Utility office to set up a deferred payment agreement. Customers may be able to avoid disconnection of service by entering into a deferred payment plan. Service will not be disconnected if the customer pays a reasonable amount of the outstanding bill and agrees to pay the remaining outstanding balance in payments.
For your convenience, the Water Utility has a locked collection box by the front door of the Municipal Center (the new entrance is located on the west side of the building facing the road) for before and after hours payments. Again, please allow ample time for your payment to reach the Water Utility office.
Your utility bill consists of three components; a base charge, a water volume charge and a sewer volume charge. See the table below for pricing. Most residential homes have a 5/8” meter installed.
BASE CHARGE - WATER + FIRE PROTECTION + SEWER = TOTAL
5/8” meter 16.20 13.20 19.00 $48.40
3/4” meter 16.20 13.20 19.00 $48.40
1” meter 30.00 33.00 95.00 $158.00
1 1/2” meter 36.00 66.00 190.00 $292.00
2” meter 51.00 105.00 285.00 $441.00
2” compound meter 51.00 105.00 570.00 $726.00
VOLUME CHARGE – WATER VOLUME CHARGE – SEWER
First 15,000 gallons $3.59 per 1,000 gallons $2.80 per 1,000 gallons of metered water
Over 15,000 gallons $3.43 per 1,000 gallons
PRIVATE WELLS
In the continued effort to ensure safe water for Village residents, we are continuing to enforce the Private Well Permit ordinance. The property owners within Kronenwetter Water Utility boundaries with a private well (it does not matter if it is a drilled well or a point well) are REQUIRED to obtain a Private Well Operating Permit from the Kronenwetter Water Utility.
If you wish to install a point well, you will need to contact Sandy Herschberger at the Madison DNR office and request a Well Construction Report Form. Her phone number is (608)267-7605. A DNR Notification number is also required PRIOR to construction. You may obtain a DNR Notification Number online at: dnr.wi.gov. Under "Online Services", click on the Well Construction Notification and answer the questions. Be sure to print a copy for your records. A second option is that you may also visit one of the 1500 locations throughout Wisconsin where hunting & fishing licenses are sold. You will receive a receipt for your records which displays a DNR Notification Number.
As of January 2011, the DNR requires that all new wells must be inspected by a certified well driller or pump installer and a copy of WI DNR form 3300-221 submitted to the Water Utility. The DNR requires this inspection every ten years. Private Well Permit renewals for 2012 and going forward will be required to comply with the 10 year inspection and provide the Village with a copy of WI DNR form 3300-221. Click here for a copy of the WI Admin Code NR 810.16 regarding private well regulations.
After the well is constructed and approved by the DNR, you must contact the Utility office to set up an inspection and water test to receive your Private Well Operating Permit
State and municipal codes require that wells be abandoned if they do not have a valid permit, meet code requirements, or are not in use. The Kronenwetter Water Utility will issue fines if a permit is not obtained or renewed. The fines will appear on the quarterly water bill.All well abandonments must be done by a certified plumber or well driller. If you abandon your well, you must provide a copy of the abandonment form to the Water Utility office for our files.
THE 1,2,3'S OF PERMITTING YOUR PRIVATE WELL
- Contact Sandy Herschberger at the Madison DNR BEFORE you drive your point. Sandy will provide information to ensure you have a compliant well. If you do not, you will be required to abandon your private well. 1.608.267.7605
- Purchase the DNR notification number. This can be purchased at Gander Mountain or anywhere else hunting/fishing licenses are sold.
- Pound your point well. You may also have this done by a certified well driller or pump installer.
- Complete the Well Construction Report form. This form will be found in the informational packet sent from Sandy at the Madison DNR office. Mail completed form to the Madison DNR office.
- Contact a certified well driller or pump installer to provide the inspection and complete the Well System and Pressure Inspection form. The certified well driller or pump installer should have this multi-copy form.
- Contact the Water Utility office to schedule a water sample/cross connection inspection. We will take a copy of the Well Construction Report form and the Well System and Pressure Inspection form when we come to take the sample.
- Once the water sample is taken, the $75 Village permit application fee will be placed on your water bill.
- Once we confirm the well has been approved via the DNR website, we will issue the 5 year operating permit.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Water Utility office at 715-693-5732. Safe drinking water benefits all of Kronenwetter's residents.
SEWER UTILITY RATE INCREASE
The Village Board in July 2011 approved an increase in the sewer utility rate. Utility customers will notice the rate increase in the quarterly billings of December 1, 2011 (customers with accounts beginning with 001-), January 1, 2012 (accounts beginning with 002-) and February 1, 2012 (account beginning with 003-). The increase was necessary due to rising costs associated with wastewater operating expenses and capital equipment replacement. The average residential sewer customer’s annual cost is anticipated to increase from $244 to $253 (based upon 60 thousand gallons of metered water usage per year), a 3.69% increase. Customers with usage below the average usage will experience a lesser percentage increase and customers with usage above the average usage will experience a larger percentage increase.
WATER & SEWER BILLS CAN NOW BE PAID BY AUTOMATIC DEDUCTION
The Kronenwetter Water Utility is now offering the opportunity to pay your quarterly water and sewer bills by ACH. Forms can be found online at www.kronenwetter.org under Water Utility or be picked up at the Municipal Center. Please call Nichole Starr for more information at 715-693-5732. Or click the link below and print off a copy to mail, email or fax to the Water Utility.
SECURITY OF WELLSITE FACILITIES
Please remember that UNAUTHORIZED motor vehicles are prohibited on the wellsite. The Village of Kronenwetter has tried to discourage unauthorized motor vehicle use on the wellsite by trenching ditches and placing signs at entrances. Unauthorized motor vehicles do include recreation vehicles such as ATVs and snowmobiles!!
SEWER MAINTENANCE POLICY
All of the Village's wastewater is pumped to the Rib Mountain Metro Sewerage District. We must not only abide by the sewer ordinances, but also the Rib Mountain Metro Sewerage District sewer ordinances. Dumping of automobile oil, gasoline, or other contaminants down a drain is prohibited.
The municipal sewer system is equipped to handle normal sanitary wastewater removal. Sewer backups occasionally occur on a sudden and random basis. Please do not use your toilet as an ashtray, wastebasket, or garbage disposal. Cooking oil should not be dumped down the drain as it can solidify in the cooler, deep sewers. Please do not flush items that may become long and stringy, such as rags or wash clothes, paper products, plastic, grease, or diapers down the drain.
These items can clog pumps and valves, creating backups or damage to lift station equipment. When these items are flushed into the system, there is a chance that you may have a sewer backup in your basement. The water and sewer department will not provide any compensation to property owners (or renters) for damage done by sudden and accidental sewer backups.
These costs are impacting our operating expenses and could force a rate increase.As a residential user, you can control what goes down the drain. Property owners and renters can make a difference in keeping our system operational and our sewer rates down.
CLEARWATER METER AVAILABLE
Property owners who wish to meter municipal water that is used for lawn watering or other non-sewerage producing outdoor activities, can install a clear water meter parallel to the existing domestic use meter. The cost for a 5/8-inch meter is $10.00/quarter ($40.00/yr) of base charge, the cost of water ($3.59 per 1,000 gallons for the first 15,000 gallons and $3.43 per 1,000 gallons over 15,000 gallons), a $25.00 permit fee, and the cost of a plumber to connect the meter to the outdoor water faucets. If you have any questions, please call us at the Water Utility office.
PUBLIC FIRE PROTECTION (PFP) CHARGE
The PFP charge is a fee that the Wisconsin Public Service Commission established for every municipality with a water distribution system. In many communities, this fee is added to the property taxes. However, when PFP is part of the property tax system, tax exempt properties do not contribute. So recently, many communities are changing and making the PFP charge a part of the water bill. In Kronenwetter, the PFP charge has always been a part of the water bill.
METER EXCHANGE AND INSPECTION
Operators are in the process of exchanging meters in certain areas of the Water Utility. The Public Service Commission requires that the Utility exchange 10% of the meter population every year to ensure accuracy to both the home owner and utility. If you receive a postcard, please call the Water Utility office to set up an appointment for the meter exchange and cross connection inspection; there is no fee to you for this service. These appointments are generally about 15 minutes in length. Please have the area around your meter cleared out to reduce the amount of time for your appointment. For your safety, please make sure that the operator or anyone claiming to need entry into your home is wearing an identification badge. Employees and authorized representatives of the Water Utility have a Village of Kronenwetter identification tag with their photograph on it.
Manganese Discoloration
