MENASHA Wis. — The Appleton Water Utility was recently named by the Wisconsin American Water Works Association as the winner of the 2024 Wisconsin Tap Water Taste Test. 

Turning Lake Winnebago’s water into Wisconsin’s best tasting tap water is not easy for those working inside the Appleton Water Treatment Facility located in Menasha.

John Pogrant is the operation supervisor at the facility. Pogrant said this plant provides water to more than 100,000 customers. This means processing a lot of H2O.

“On average, about nine and a half million gallons a day,” Pogrant said.  

The water treatment process for this nine and a half million gallons essentially boils down to four stages: coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection.

Pogrant said during the coagulation process, the water from Lake Winnebago is treated with chemicals that bind to sediments. 

“We add lime to soften the water, and we’re also drawing out a lot of the solids from the raw water,” Pogrant said.  

He said after a period of mixing, clusters of small particles, or flocs, form. Pogrant said every four hours, it’s tested to check the integrity of the water treatment process, called flocculation.  

“The separation of the solids and water and then that’s what’s eventually going to go through to the drinking water portion,” Pogrant said.  

The water is then moved to the filtration process. It’s at this stage where the taste of Appleton’s water is perfected. The Appleton treatment facility uses sand and carbon. 

Chris Stempa is the director of utilities for the City of Appleton. Stempa said large carbon basins help improve taste and odor.   

“It’s very similar to the Brita filter. The Brita filter that you might see at your home. The only difference is sand and then ours is substantially larger. We’ve got eight of these,” Stempa said.  

The water may look clear after this step, but some residual bacteria remains. In this final stage — called disinfection — bacteria is eliminated with chemicals like chlorine and ultraviolet radiation, but before water flows to consumers’ faucets, it gets rechecked inside the facility’s lab.

Relief operator Kyle Smith said every four hours, Appleton’s water is tested for proper Ph levels, among other things. Several faucets allow Smith to test at all stages of the water collection process.  

“This one on the very left here is coming from Lake Winnebago and that’s our raw water tap. Then as we go down, it goes from the dirtiest water to the water that’s in your house,” Smith said.    

It takes a lot of chemistry and countless working hours to perfect Appleton’s water. Stempa said he’s honored his team was recognized for their hard work.

“I’m proud of them, and I know they’re proud of it. And it’s something to be said when they’re noted for something that’s positive,” Stempa said.

Appleton’s water could be tweaked even more, as the Appleton water facility goes on to represent Wisconsin in at the national tap water taste test next year in Denver.