Water is Family

Image credit: Jody Berndt

Whether his teammates know him as Hillbilly, Wild Bill, William of the Hills, Billy, or Cool Hand Luke, there is one thing they will always know about City of Madison Water Utility employee Jon Zimmerman: to him, Water is family.

Jon grew up in the southwest corner of Wisconsin in the rural community of Blanchardville where his family owned and operated a successful cheesemaking operation, Zim’s Cheese. At the peak of their production in the 1980s, Zim’s major client was Domino’s Pizza. With each plant producing over 400,000 pounds of milk per day for mozzarella cheese, it was quite the operation.

Jon laughs, “At the height of the Noid, Dominos would fly their helicopter all the way from Detroit to the plant in Blanchardville to give area farmers rides. It was crazy!”

With several active plants, Jon thought his life as a cheesemaker was set. Until one fateful day his father phoned out of the blue to say he had sold the business. At twenty-two years old, without a college education and no other plans in mind, the news shocked Jon to the core. He took the day off and headed into Madison, arriving at a military recruiting station at lunch time.

With all the other branches out to lunch except the Army. He asked, “How soon can you get me out of here?” Two weeks was the answer. And in two weeks he was off for basic training in the heat of the Mojave Desert far from the green pastures of Wisconsin, an old man at twenty-two by comparison to the other recruits fresh out of high school.

On the morning of November 9, 1989, he woke up on a base in Germany to what sounded like hundreds of chainsaws all going at once. He stepped outside to witness the fall of the Berlin Wall. “It was so noisy and even more so after the wall fell. We couldn’t figure out what the noise was and then we realized, the East Germans rushing over the border didn’t have mufflers on their cars!!”

“A year later, on Christmas Eve, we loaded onto a TWA plane headed for Saudi Arabia. It was the start of the Gulf War. We trained for this and were eager to ship out. We ended up out in the middle of the desert,” Jon remembers, “Our water source was large tanks of eighty-degree water. Our bathrooms were long trenches. If you ate the food set out it was covered in flies, so you’d end up with worms. When you’re in a situation like that, it really makes you appreciate everything.”

Returning back to the United States, Jon took a job milking cows back on the family farm. After a year of long days, he did the math and realized he was making about ninety-six cents an hour. He knew he needed a change. Eventually he found his way to WATER.

Starting as a truck driver in September of 2002, he spent the first ten years at the Water Utility involved in the city’s lead replacement program. He moved into inspecting and is now what is familiarly known in the industry as a “rounder.”

Rounders spend their days inspecting every component of the waterworks system—anything that has to do with water. Every day they check wells, water towers, and booster pumps to make sure each component is in tip top shape. Rounders also record the daily levels of chlorine and fluoride present in the system.

When he’s off the clock, Jon’s taken a deep interest in the science of bourbon: how it’s made, its history, and culture. He’s part of the Bourbon Republic a Madison-area club that meets regularly at the Athens Grill.

“Water plays an important part in the end result of a bourbon. In Kentucky, their bourbons are prized because of the way their water picks up limestone and minerals. In Texas, high temperatures cause evaporation of the water from the barrel, called the “angel’s share,” which changes the end result.”

Jon’s excitement about bourbon; however, is only equaled by his love for his work at Madison Water Utility.

“I love being a part of the team. There is nothing like a five-person crew working together to get good water out to people. We are best friends. If I’m out on vacation for a week, I can’t wait to get back.”

“Water is family.”