There are pumps that have been drawing water since 1926, when Calvin Coolidge was president and a stamp cost two cents.

The oldest water mains in the city were put into the ground in 1880, the year that Madison's public water system started operating. The city's streets were still unpaved and travel was by horse-drawn carriage.

Today, the system that delivers water to Madison has grown to a complicated network of pipes, wells and reservoirs that is a challenge to keep operating.

The system includes 24 active wells, 31 pumping stations, 31 storage facilities (such as towers and reservoirs) and more than 800 miles of water mains, ranging in size from 1 to 24 inches in diameter.

-Ron Seely