Winterset Municipal Utilities

Utility Bills are mailed out around the 24^th of the month. All payments are either made online at cityofwinterset.org, or they can be paid in person, by mail, or by using the drop-off box all located at 124 W Court Avenue. Utility bills are sent out around the 24^th of the month and are due on the 15^th of the following month. If payment is not made by the 15^th a friendly reminder notice will be mailed to you. Ten days after the date of the reminder notice you will receive a door hanger notifying you that your service may be disconnected if payment is not made within 48 hours. In addition, if you receive a door hanger you will be charged an extra $20 which will be on the following month’s bill. The City understands that there may be extenuating circumstances that occur from time to time that place a hardship on your budget. Please call and make arrangements before you receive a door hanger to save yourself the extra costs.

Online Payments are now available! Go to the Make Utilities Payment button below. You will need the account number and dollar amount from your utility bill. You will enter your account number first.

The Electric and Water Utilities of the City of Winterset are governed by a three member Board of Trustees serving 6-year terms, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. Meetings are held monthly and the public is encouraged to attend.

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Incentive Forms: Residential & Commercial

About Winterset Municipal Utilities

The Winterset Municipal Utilities is constantly pursuing efficiency, growth, and providing the safest and most consistent product to our customer. We are committed to the improvement of our employees and feel we have one of the finest staffs in the state.  Our utility supports economic development and endeavors to make an attractive environment to new businesses and developments.

Water

Read: Temporary Switch to Free Chlorine, October 1-29, 2019

The Winterset Municipal Utilities provides water to 5,196 people and 342 commercial and industrial customers in Madison County. The source for this water is Cedar Lake, a surface water impoundment, located just northeast of Winterset. This supply has been in continuous use since 1938 and has been the only supply for our customers since 1995 when a new $3.8 million dollar treatment plant was built to meet new water quality standards.

In 2009 Reverse Osmosis treatment was added to the water plant to remove nitrates. In 2014 Cedar Lake was dredged, effectively doubling the capacity of the lake and the spillway replacement was completed in 2015. The water treatment plant currently operates at about 30% of total capacity and could be easily expanded in the future if necessary. The annual water production is around 220 million gallons with the ability to produce substantially more at any time.

Electric

The City Council of Winterset Iowa first considered establishing a Municipal Light Plant on April 6, 1889, a little more than nine years after Thomas Edison was granted a patent on the first electric lamp. The Winterset Municipal Light Plant began service on October 1, 1889 as a coal fired steam generation facility with a capacity of 250 kW and 230 customers.

In 1930 the plant was converted from steam to diesel power when the utility purchased a McIntosh & Seymour 5-cylinder engine (430 kW). A Worthington 6-cylinder engine (500 kW) was added in 1931 and an additional Worthington (300 kW) was added in 1938. In 1946 an American Locomotive (750 kW) 8 cylinder engine was installed. The “Alco” was removed from service in 1999.  In 1956 a 12-cylinder Nordberg radial engine (1500 kW) was put into service. The first dual-fuel (diesel & natural gas) unit, a Cooper LS8 8-cylinder (1750 kW) was installed in 1965 with a second unit, a Cooper LSV-16 16-cylinder (4480 kW) following in 1970. The Nordberg and both Cooper engines are still in use today and three, diesel fueled, 1825 kW Cat engines went into service in January of 2002.  The generating capacity of all these is 13.6 Megawatts.  The Electric utility is currently working in phases to get most of its distribution system underground.

In 2017 we began the construction for the next underground project.  In 2019 we have almost finished construction on the underground project.