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1. How do I determine if I have a lead service line?

In Brookfield, we have good records of what the City installed, but limited records detailing the pipes that lead into homes as well as those pipes inside each home.  While the City does not believe there are lead water service lines in Brookfield, we need your help to confirm that. 

Water Service Identification Survey

2. Can I still use my private well for outside watering once I connect to City Water?

Yes. A 5 year permit must be obtained from Building Inspection. They can be reached at 262-796-6646. Building Inspection

3. Where can I get my private well tested?

Contact Waukesha County Environmental Resources at 262-896-8300.

4. Does my city water come from Milwaukee?

No, the water utility maintains 22 ground water wells that provide the city with water.

5. How does the City decide where to put new water main and when?

The water main extension policy provides for the Brookfield Water Utility to extend water to an area for any of the following purposes:
• improving the overall performance of the water distribution system
• completing the water distribution system in an area
• coordinating the installation of water main to precede road reconstruction projects
• providing water in areas where the condition of the private wells is suspect
• any other purpose determined by the utility

6. How do I know when water is planned to be installed in my area?

Contact the Engineering Department at 262-787-3919 or view the 5 year water main improvement plan

7. Why does my sump pump run more often than usual?

Make sure your sump pump is not recycling the water, make sure all discharge hoses are extended out far enough. Make sure all outside hose bibbs are shut off. Make sure downspouts and gutters are clear of debris. Contact the Water Utility at 262-796-6717 to pressure test your water service line to make sure there is no leak.

8. What is the water pressure in my area?

Please contact the Engineering Department at 262-787-3919. Engineering Department

9. What is a water emergency?

A water main break.
No water in your house (if you are on a private well, contact a plumber or well company).
A broken service line.

10. Is it true that all properties in Brookfield will receive municipal water?

Yes. In 1999 the Common Council began discussing the need for a comprehensive water system build out plan to serve all properties in the City of Brookfield with municipal water. The City developed a water main extension policy to accomplish this in early 2001 and subsequently adopted it in June of 2002 and has specifically reconfirmed the policy many times since. The water main extension policy provides for the logical extension of water main to all properties in the City of Brookfield.

11. Why do we need municipal water, our well is fine?

A municipal water source is advantageous to the community for numerous reasons:
• Municipal water is safer than private sources. It is tested and treated by trained professionals multiple times each week, and tested again monthly and quarterly for dozens of contaminants to ensure the safety and quality of the water. Private wells are infrequently if ever tested by property owners.
• Municipal water is more reliable than private sources. The Utility operates wells and pump stations with backup power supplies in times of power failure. Private systems generally can not provide water during power outages.
• A municipal water system provides a plentiful supply of water for fire protection. This can affect insurance ratings and premiums. Private systems rely on Fire Trucks with tanks that need to fill up elsewhere.
• Municipal water increases the value of properties. Real estate agents indicate that properties with municipal water are more valuable and easier to sell than properties with private wells.
• Municipal water service provides for essentially worry free service since Water Utility employees operate and maintain the water system. Private water service requires property owners to test their wells and maintain pumps, pipes and well.
• Municipal water service protects the precious water source better than private wells. The City maintains ordinances protecting the areas surrounding the City’s 22 municipal wells from certain land uses that might contaminate the wells. Private wells do not enjoy these protections and are so numerous (in the thousands) that it drastically increases the potential for contamination of the groundwater system.

12. What does it cost to get water service?

To recover the costs of the water main installed to serve properties, the water utility assesses the cost for water main extensions to adjacent property owners. In the past few years, assessment costs have ranged from $75 per frontage foot to $90 per frontage foot depending on the project, plus the cost for the service from the main to the lot line, typically ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 each depending on the size of the service. To calculate what your assessment may be, multiply the cost per frontage foot by the frontage for your property and add the cost for the service. Typical properties in Brookfield have frontages ranging from 130 feet to 200 feet. So for a property with a frontage of 130 feet, the water main assessment costs can range from approximately $11,750 to $15,700. For a property with a frontage of 200 feet, the assessment can range from approximately $17,000 to $22,000.

This information is provided so you can begin planning now for this future water main assessment. The assessment may be paid in a lump sum or in a ten year timeframe at a 7% interest rate.

It must be stated that these are only examples of what the assessment could be, based on averages and bids received on projects in the past few years. Actual assessments will vary in the future as construction costs vary and the frontage of properties vary. These costs are meant to be representative only and in no way provide a guarantee of a maximum cost for the water main assessment. There are other rules that apply for oddly configured or small lots that affect the assessment costs. For further details, please contact the Engineering Division on rules for calculating water main assessments.

These sample assessments do NOT include the cost for property owners to install water service from the lot line to the house. These costs can range from $3,000 to $6,000 or more depending on internal plumbing, distance from the lot line to the house, trees or patios that may need to be restored, etc.

13. Do we need to pay all of the assessment at once?

No. To ease the burden of water main assessments on property owners, the Utility allows payment of assessments over a ten-year period with interest, currently 7%.

14. Once water is installed in the street, when do we need to connect?

Property owners have ten years to connect to municipal water from when the main is installed or at point of sale of the property, whichever comes first.

15. When will we get city water?

Click on the link for a copy of the City map showing the plans for extending water to new areas over the next five years. If your street is not highlighted on that map, then you either already have water or are not scheduled for water until sometime after the five year period. Five year water main map

16. Are there any restrictions on lawn or garden watering?

Water sprinkling activities such as sprinkling water on lawns, gardens, shrubs, trees, and other vegetation, washing vehicles or structures and filling swimming pools are restricted to certain days. Water sprinkling is restricted to before 9 AM and after 6 PM by properties with even numbered addresses on even numbered days of the year and by properties with odd numbered addresses on odd numbered days of the year.

These water sprinkling regulations apply to all properties in the City, whether on private wells or the municipal system.

Exceptions: The Utility will allow exceptions to the policy if the property owner contacts the Utility to describe the condition for which an exception is sought and if the request fits into the following categories:
• watering of newly established lawns, shrubs, or trees,
• irrigation of crops,
• commercial car washes that recycle their water,
• golf courses that draw water from on-site retention ponds.

Additional restrictions may be placed on water sprinkling based on the need to conserve water resulting from dry conditions, mechanical failure of the wells/pumps or other emergency.