Public Works Department

Supervisor: Charlie Guski
715-373-6171

Public Works Implements Changes Supporting Sustainable Practices

Recently it was necessary to replace the oil fired water heater in Memorial Park. The City replaced it with a natural gasfired on-demand tankless water heater. 'This means there is no tank to hold water and no need to heat and reheat any water that sits in the tank for a period of time. With the on-demand water heater, you only heat the water you use and only at the time you use it. This way of heating water is 35-40 % more efficient than using an oil-fired conventional water heater. So not only is energy conserved, dollars are saved in the city budget as well. This heater has been in use for about two months and has worked well.

The life expectancy of a tank water heater is 10-15 years. The life expectancy of an on-demand heater is 20 years or greater. Repairs to this new heater, if necessary, can be made easily and at low cost. If the City had replaced the old heater with an oil-fired heater, it would have cost $3,200 for the heater and installation. Costs for the on-demand heater and installation totaled $2,160. Another advantage of the new system is that it is small and mounts to the wall of the utility room of the park's comfort station, thus providing more floor space for storage.

The Public Works Department has also been changing incandescent lights in our city buildings to fluorescent light bulbs. These light bulbs cost a little more but are much more durable, take less energy to operate, and last much longer.