Spiel, attending a public meeting on water quality Monday night, said she spent a number of years trying to get the city to do something about her discolored water and her damaged laundry.

"I was losing articles left and right," Spiel said. "I went to my neighborhood association and there were 35 other families with the same problem. We were thinking it was our wash machines, maybe pens stuck in them, and were having them repaired. . . . I just got to a point where I got worn out."

Spiel said she lived in the Westhaven Trails neighborhood, near the city's southern boundary when she was struggling with the mineral manganese in her water. She said that years ago, when she complained to the Madison Water Utility about the problem, she received little help.

So increased attention to manganese and other problems with the utility is appreciated, Spiel said Monday night, at a meeting attended by about 60 people.

At the meeting, officials with the city and the utility pledged that these are different times. They emphasized that better communication with the public about everything from testing to water quality problems such as manganese is now a priority.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz welcomed residents to the meeting and said it is the first in a series and is intended to be part of an ongoing dialogue about the city's water.

"I think it is important that we do this," Cieslewicz said, adding that clean drinking water is a fundamental service. "People need to know their drinking water is safe. . . . We need to make sure public confidence in the utility is as high as it can be."

David Denig-Chakroff, general manager of the utility, said the meeting and the utility's efforts to be more open represent important changes.

"This meeting in particular is really a course change," Denig-Chakroff said.