About Stoughton Utilities
Stoughton Utilities is a locally-owned, not-for-profit municipal utility that provides electric, water, and wastewater service to the City of Stoughton and surrounding communities, with a service territory covering approximately 24 square miles.
The Stoughton Water Utility was founded in 1886. It was followed by the establishment of the Stoughton Electric Utility in 1891, and the Stoughton Wastewater Utility followed soon thereafter. Combined, the three utilities make up Stoughton Utilities. Operations are directed from the Utilities Administration Building located at 600 S. Fourth Street.
Stoughton Utilities is operated under the direction of the seven-member
Utilities Committee and the Stoughton Common Council. The Utilities Committee consists of the Mayor, three alderpersons, and three citizen members appointed by the Mayor.
Click below for more information about each utility service.
Stoughton Electric Utility
The Stoughton Utilities electric utility was established in 1891. Stoughton Utilities provides electric service to approximately 8,900 customers within the City of Stoughton and in part or all of five rural townships in Dane and Rock Counties. Stoughton Utilities is a public power utility, which means that we are not-for-profit and owned by the community we serve.
Benefits of Public Power
Local Control - Stoughton Utilities is owned by the community we serve. We are governed by the Stoughton Utilities Committee and Stoughton City Council, not corporate shareholders, so citizens have a say in utility decisions. This helps us to keep rates low, and money is reinvested into infrastructure and the community.
Reliable - Stoughton Utilities consistently receives recognition for achieving exceptional electrical reliability from the American Public Power Association (APPA). In fact, the average Stoughton Utilities customer has their lights out for less than a quarter of the time compared to customers of all other U.S. electric utilities.
Affordable - Stoughton Utilities is not-for-profit, so our rates are lower than privately owned electric providers because we don't answer to corporate investors. Overall, typical residential customers of Stoughton Utilities will pay about $17 less per month than the average Dane County resident for utilities.
Responsible - Stoughton Utilities is motivated to support the community we serve, and seeks to help you save energy through our many incentives and energy efficiency programs. We strive to provide a diverse mix of energy sources including renewables, while keeping costs low and maintaining reliability.
Power Supply
Stoughton Utilities is one of 51 municipal utilities located in Wisconsin, Iowa and Upper Michigan that are members and joint owners of WPPI Energy, a regional Joint Action Agency. WPPI Energy maintains a power supply portfolio consisting of ownership in coal, natural gas, and wind turbine power plants, and contracts for hydro, landfill bio-gas, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind power producing facilities. Our membership with WPPI Energy allows us to partner with other locally owned utilities in the area to purchase power at a lower cost and share resources, helping to keep your costs lower.
Stoughton Utilities and WPPI Energy are committed to reducing carbon emissions and promoting long-term sustainability, while also ensuring reliable power to meet our customers' needs and working hard to keep costs as low as possible. Since 2005, WPPI Energy has reduced the carbon emissions associated with powering their 51 member communities by 45%.
Stoughton's peak electric demand of 38.1 MW was reached in August of 2023.
Stoughton's Electric Infrastructure
The electricity we purchase is carried from power plants across Wisconsin and the midwest via high voltage transmission lines and enters our distribution system through one of four substations.
A substation reduces the voltage of the electricity so that it can safely travel to your home. The electricity leaves the substations and travels to neighborhoods through distribution lines. Stoughton Utilities owns and maintains over 311 miles of overhead and underground power lines in our distribution system.
After traveling to your neighborhood, the voltage is reduced again at a transformer located near your home. The electricity travels through an electric meter, typically located on the outside of your home or business, to measure the amount of electricity you use before finally traveling into your home to power lights, appliances, and anything else that uses electricity to operate.
Definitions
Current (Amps) - The flow of electric charge through a wire, like water flowing through a pipe.
Distribution Lines - The local power lines that deliver electricity from substations to neighborhoods and customers.
Kilowatt (kW) - A unit of power equal to 1,000 watts. For example, running ten 100-watt light bulbs uses 1 kilowatt.
Kilowatt-Hour (kWh) - A unit of energy that shows how much electricity is used over time. One 100-watt bulb on for 10 hours uses 1 kWh.
Load - The amount of electricity being used by homes, businesses, and industry at a given time.
Meter - A device that measures how much electricity a customer uses, usually in kilowatt-hours.
Peak Demand - The time of day or season when electricity use is the highest.
Power (Watts) - How much work electricity can do. It’s found by multiplying volts × amps.
Power Plant - A facility where electricity is generated, often from sources like natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, solar, or wind.
Public Power - A utility that is owned by the community and serves customers locally, rather than by private investors.
Reliability - How consistently the utility can provide electricity without interruptions.
Service Drop - The final stretch of power line that connects the utility’s distribution system to a customer’s home or business.
Substation - A facility where electricity voltage is lowered from very high transmission levels to safer distribution levels for homes and businesses.
Transformer - A device that changes (steps up or steps down) the voltage of electricity so it can be moved efficiently through the system and safely into homes.
Transmission Lines - High-voltage power lines that carry electricity long distances from power plants to communities.
Voltage (Volts) - The force, or pressure, that pushes electric current through wires.
Stoughton Water Utility
The Stoughton Water Utility was founded in 1886 and today serves water to more than 5,120 customers in the City of Stoughton. Stoughton Utilities' water comes from four wells located throughout the city that is pumped directly into the water distribution system and three storage facilities. In 2022, Stoughton Utilities pumped over 443 million gallons of water.
Stoughton Utilities owns and maintains 2 water towers, 4 wells, over 78 miles of water main, 716 fire hydrants, and over 5,000 water meters throughout the City of Stoughton. Each year, water operators open all of the fire hydrants in the city to flush the water mains. Annual flushing removes sediment and mineral deposits that settle on the bottom of the water mains, and allows us to verify the proper operation of hydrants and valves and maintain firefighting capabilities. Each of the over 2,000 distribution valves in our system are also required to be inspected and rotated every 5 years.
2021 Lead Service Line Replacements
In 2021, Stoughton Utilities replaced all of the known lead water service lines in the city. Lead can cause serious health problems, especially in children and pregnant women. Although the water lines going into your home are now lead free, you could still have materials that contain lead in your home’s interior plumbing. Click here for more information on this project and how to reduce your lead risk.
Drinking Water Quality Report
Stoughton's drinking water is regularly monitored for contaminants to ensure that it meets all health and safety standards. For more detailed information on testing results and contaminants, please see our annual Drinking Water Quality Report.
Drinking Water FAQ's
What is the hardness of Stoughton’s water?
Stoughton’s water is 18.0 grains of hardness.
How much iron is in Stoughton’s water?
The average iron content in our water supply is 0.17 parts per million (ppm). This amount will vary between 0.00 ppm and 0.26 ppm based on your location within the city.
What is the PH level of Stoughton’s water?
The PH level of the water supply ranges from 7.4 – 8.5.
What is added to Stoughton’s drinking water?
Stoughton Utilities disinfects our water with chlorine, which is a step in the water treatment and distribution process to assure the biological safety of water. We add different amounts of chlorine throughout the year to help combat possible contaminants that may become problematic in water with the elevated temperatures.
Stoughton Utilities fluoridates the water that leaves our wells. Fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities by about 25% in children and adults. Community water fluoridation is recommended by nearly all public health, medical, and dental organizations. It is recommended by the American Dental Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Public Health Service, and World Health Organization.
What causes rusty water, and is it safe to drink?
Rusty water may look and taste unpleasant, and possibly stain sinks and clothing, but it is not a health concern. Rust is oxidized iron, and is introduced to tap water from the corrosion of the water mains under the street and/or the plumbing inside your home, apartment, or business. Certain events can stir up the sediment in the water mains, causing discoloration as the particulates become visible to the naked eye, including water main breaks, fire fighting efforts with high water use, or other disturbances that cause a significant change in water flow.
Click here for more information.
Can Stoughton Utilities test my home’s water for contaminants?
Stoughton Utilities does not offer personal water testing services. To have the water tested at your home, please contact a certified laboratory to request a test kit. Options include the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (800) 442-4618 and Northern Lake Service, Inc. (715) 478-2777.
Stoughton Wastewater Utility
First built in the 1940s, the City of Stoughton Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has undergone several expansions and upgrades to replace aging equipment, accommodate an increasing population, and to remain compliant with discharge permit requirements.
Wastewater collection and treatment service consists of one treatment plant, three inverted siphons, six lift stations, over 69 miles of sanitary sewer mains, and over 1,600 manholes. All operations, including remote locations, are monitored and controlled by a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant currently processes approximately one million gallons of wastewater per day. As the raw wastewater goes through the treatment plant, it is treated and cleaned so it can be safely discharged into the environment. The Stoughton Wastewater Treatment Plant uses an activated sludge treatment process. As wastewater moves through the plant, it is treated biologically, without chemicals, utilizing microorganisms that use the pollutants as a food source to break down waste material.
All aspects of the wastewater treatment process are closely monitored and regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Wastewater operators regularly test samples of the wastewater to ensure safety and compliance with all applicable laws and permit limits.
The Wastewater Treatment Plant also reports daily weather observations such as temperature, precipitation, and snowfall measurements to the National Weather Service.
Is it Really Flushable?
What we put down our drains and toilets can negatively impact the environment and our wastewater system. Even items labeled as “flushable” can clog pipes, tangle pumps, and result in messy and costly sewer backups into homes and businesses.
Help us avoid unnecessary maintenance and prevent sewer backups by not putting any product other than toilet paper in toilets or down drains. Please do not flush any of the following products down
toilets, or put them down the drain: 
- "Flushable" wipes
- Disinfectant wipes
- Paper towels
- Diapers or baby wipes
- Cat litter
- Sanitary products
- Tissues
- Towels
- Cotton balls
- Grease and oil
Definitions
Aeration - The process of adding air to wastewater to help microorganisms break down organic matter.
Disinfection - A step in treatment (Stoughton Utilities uses UV light) to kill harmful bacteria and viruses before water is released.
Effluent - The treated water that is released from the treatment plant into rivers, lakes, or the environment.
Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) - Extra water that enters the sewer system from sources like leaky pipes, cracks, or storm drains. Too much I&I can overload the system.
Nutrients - Substances like nitrogen and phosphorus found in wastewater. Too many nutrients in rivers or lakes can cause algae growth.
pH - A measure of how acidic or basic the water is. Proper pH balance is important for treatment processes and the environment.
Pretreatment - Steps businesses or industries take to reduce pollutants in their wastewater before it enters the municipal system.
Primary Treatment - The first step in treatment, where solids are allowed to settle out of the wastewater.
Secondary Treatment - The biological process where helpful microorganisms break down organic material in the water.
Sewer - The network of underground pipes that carries wastewater from homes and businesses to the treatment plant.
Sludge (Biosolids) - The solid material that settles out during wastewater treatment. After further processing, it can sometimes be safely reused as fertilizer.
Wastewater - Used water that comes from homes, businesses, and industries. It includes water from sinks, showers, toilets, and washing machines.
Wastewater Treatment Plant - A facility where wastewater is cleaned and treated before being safely released back into the environment.