Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Thursday that a $2.4 million water filtration system for Well No. 29 will be included in his 2007 budget plans.

Tests from Well No. 29, on the city's Far East Side, have shown levels of the metal manganese of approximately 170 parts per billion - below the EPA's health advisory standard of 300 parts per billion but above the aesthetic standard of 50 parts per billion. Well No. 29 has been on "standby" since May 2006, operating only for water main flushes.

The announcement came as residents living in Well No. 29's service area gathered for a neighborhood meeting to get information and ask questions about the future of the well, including the filter.

David Denig-Chakroff, general manager of the Madison Water Utility, said the filtration system would drop both the manganese and iron levels in the water to a negligible level.

"You'll probably have the cleanest water in the city," he told residents. "Well 29 is kind of the poster child for Madison for water treatment."

The filtration system will work by adding an oxidizing agent, which will turn the dissolved metals into solid precipitates. As solids, the metals can then be effectively filtered out of the water.

"We'd filter out the metals and remove it from the system before we put it in the distribution system, so you would never see it," Denig-Chakroff said.

Ald. Lauren Cnare, 3rd District, represents a portion of the residents affected by Well No. 29 and said the filtration system is the best long-term solution, as the filter will last 20 years or more.

"It's terribly unfortunate that this is the first well that this has happened in and it had to happen so dramatically," she said. "But this is water. This is not an amenity; it's a reality. It needs to be there."

Denig-Chakroff said a 40-by- 60-foot addition to the well's building will be needed to house the filter. But because the high manganese levels were apparent as the well's construction ended, some features for a filter system are already present.

"When we finished that structure, we knew at that time that we had higher than desired levels of manganese," Denig- Chakroff said. "So we did some modifications in the final design, we put in some extra piping and a higher pressure pump which would be needed to force the water through a filter system if we were going to need that, which we now have."

Denig-Chakroff said other options, such as starting over to build a new well in a different location, would be more expensive than building a new filtration system.

"We've already invested quite a bit of money in this site," he said. "It is by far the least expensive option we have available."

Denig-Chakroff added that relying on other wells is not feasible in the long-term. Residents of Well No. 29's area currently receive water from Well No. 15, but if that well malfunctioned, it would be difficult to provide water to residents in both areas.

The mayor's 2007 budget proposal will go to the City Council in September and will be approved in late November. If the system is approved, Denig-Chakroff said designs for the filtration system will continue in early 2007 construction will begin sometime in mid-summer.

Janet Piraino, chief of staff for the mayor, said the mayor expects the filtration funding will "absolutely . . . go forward."

But the funding will not go without any debate, Cnare said.

"I think there will be people who say, 'Gosh, that is a lot of money.' But it lasts for twenty- some years," she said. "I will be loud and clear, slamming my water glass on the table, this is a basic service the city provides - clean, safe, good tasting water."