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Finance Committee approves $320,000 carryover to continue Waukesha water softener rebate program
Summary
The finance committee voted to carry $320,000 from 2024 into 2025 to sustain a $200-per-unit water softener removal rebate, which staff says is helping lower chloride levels in the city's water supply but is nearing its current funding limit.
The Waukesha City Finance Committee on April 29 approved a recommendation to carry over $320,000 from 2024 to 2025 to continue a water softener removal rebate program.
Zack Eisner, Plant Manager at the Clean Water Plant, told the committee the program offers a $200 rebate for qualifying residential water softeners removed within the city and has been processing roughly 10'20 applications per week. Eisner said the program's account balance is nearly exhausted and the carryover would let the city "continue the momentum" and keep processing incoming applications.
Committee members pressed for details on the program's funding and on whether it has produced measurable improvements in water quality. Eisner said approximately $100,000 of the rebate fund originated from the city's chloride program tied to the Lake Michigan diversion work and that additional support comes from the water utility. He said the account had held about $160,000 so far in 2025, and that carryover dollars would come from unspent 2024 allocations.
On results, Eisner said the city's baseline chloride concentrations fell to roughly 380 milligrams per liter after the switch from Lake Michigan water, and he estimated that every 1,000 residential softener removals reduce chloride concentration by about 12 mg/L. He cautioned that winter road salt causes seasonal spikes of roughly 100 mg/L, which is why staff seeks additional buffer below permit thresholds.
A motion from Alderman Beth Lemke to carry the $320,000 forward was seconded by Alderperson Helbing Slaven and passed on a voice vote. The committee recorded no formal roll-call tally in the transcript.
The committee directed staff to implement the carryover; Eisner and staff will proceed with administering the rebate program under the existing program specifications. The committee did not take other action on water-quality regulations or permit limits during the meeting.
