Oak Creek Water Utility Trumpets Big Savings

The said today that its investments in technology have expanded water processing capacity and saved rate-payers the equivalent of $10 million.

In a news release, the utility said that it can now effectively process 35 million gallons per day - an increase of 25 percent - thanks to money spent on technology during the last treatment plant expansion. The improvements allowed the utility to save money on infrastructure and capital improvement costs.

"We achieved the best of all worlds," Utility Engineer Mike Sullivan said in the news release. "We achieved additional water treatment capacity while exceeding water quality standards without adding cost to ratepayers."

New regulations from the state Department of Natural Resources made things a bit trickier, but the utility's technology improvements ensured that it would have ample water supply through the next 30 years, according to the news release.

"By increasing the amount of water treatment capacity, we are able to meet the needs of customers through 2040 while significantly exceeding water quality regulations," Sullivan said.

In addition to Oak Creek, the utility services Franklin and Caledonia.