The next time you drive through Wauwatosa, look up and you’ll probably see a water tower or two... or eight.
Bubbler Talk question asker Brice Smith lives in Tosa, where water towers are a routine part of the scenery. He’s partial to the one on Glenview Avenue because of its old-fashioned look.
"It’s kind of odd that I actually have a favorite water tower, that we have enough water towers in Wauwatosa that I can actually have a favorite," Brice says. "So my question is why do we have so many water towers in Wauwatosa?"
To answer that question, Brice and I met Tosa’s public works director, David Simpson, at the Glenview water tower.
"Every community has a different number of water towers based on the need of the community," says David. "So the city of Wauwatosa pumps in an average year over 1.5 billion gallons of water to our residents and commercial users. And on any given day we need to prepare for the maximum use of that day."
Tosa’s water comes from Lake Michigan via Milwaukee Water Works, which treats the water. It’s stored in ground-level tanks as well as four water towers, elevated 125-200 feet off the ground.
"The reason we elevate it is to make sure the pressure you guys need at home and the pressure our fire fighters need when they’re fighting a fire is available to them at all times," David says.
Tosa’s water system is divided into an east zone and a west zone, with two water towers assigned to each. Brice's home is in to the east district, which is tied to his favorite tower, Glenview, and the massive Burleigh tower near the interstate.
In addition to the two east district towers, Brice's water may at times come directly from a pumping station.
The main water tower for the west district is on W. Feerick St. and N. 124th Street. Tosa’s fourth water tower, the Research Park tower near the juvenile justice center, is mothballed for now. The city aims to use $1.8 million in federal stimulus funds to get it back online.
David says the Burleigh and Feerick water towers are drained and refilled at least once a day to keep the water fresh. The Glenview water tower is only used during warmer months when water demand is higher.
The highest-use months in Wauwatosa are June through August, when people consume around 150 million gallons of water. The lowest-use months are November through February, with around 115 million gallons of water flowing through sinks and showers.
"Depending on the time of day, it’s very likely a resident would be consuming water from inside the tower depending on how far they live from the tower and what time of day they are using it," he says.
Wauwatosa's water supply has a contentious history. In the mid-1900s, Milwaukee refused to supply Lake Michigan water to Wauwatosa, which was reliant on well water.
An article from the Wauwatosa Historical Society quotes then-Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler saying, “How about becoming part of the city politically? You want city services without paying taxes.”
This was around the time that Milwaukee was competing with suburbs to annex land.
Wauwatosa took the water fight to the state Public Service Commission, which in 1958 ordered Milwaukee to supply Tosa with water.
So, Wauwatosa has four municipal water towers, three of which are currently in use. Is that a lot for a city of 50,000 people?
"It’s not a lot for the size of the water system we have — no, not out of the ordinary," says David.
Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources confirmed that for cities of a similar size, it’s not unusual to have three or four elevated storage tanks. For example, Brookfield has four and New Berlin has three.
Milwaukee, a much larger city, also has three elevated storage tanks.
"Most of [Milwaukee's] storage is through ground storage reservoirs — total 36 million gallons," says Theera Ratarasarn with DNR's Drinking Water and Groundwater Program.
But there’s another factor contributing to Brice's impression of a water-tower-saturated city. In Tosa, there are at least four privately-owned water towers.
"That’s probably why so many people think, 'Why are there all these water towers?'" David says.
The Medical College of Wisconsin has two, Penzey’s Spices has one and Briggs & Stratton has one. Combined, that’s eight water towers that we know of in Tosa. Four of them are clustered along Interstate 41.
"From a resident perception of the number of towers, the average person would drive by and be like, 'Why are there so many towers?'" David says. "Especially because they’re adjacent to the interstate so you notice them. They happen to be in that one corridor."
So to recap, Tosa has four municipal water towers, which isn’t unusual. It’s the four privately-owned towers that put it over the top. Plus, they’re clustered together near high-traffic areas.
After hearing all of this, Brice has one last question, about his favorite water tower here on Glenview Avenue: "When was this water tower built?"
"This water tower was built in 1928," David says. "It’s one of the oldest water towers in the state. So we’ll have a 100-year anniversary soon and maybe we’ll have a party."
"I’ll be here for the party," Brice laughs.
Mark your calendars for 2028 to celebrate Tosa’s oldest water tower, which is one piece of the system that keeps water flowing where it needs to go — including to the city’s bubblers.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with information about Wauwatosa's water supply history.
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