Learning lavatories featuring clean water infrastructure and initiatives
Visitors to the Madison Public Market will have the opportunity to experience bathrooms like no others they’ve been to before.
Through a collaboration between the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, the Madison Public Market Foundation, the City of Madison and Art & Sons, the Madison Public Market bathrooms have been uniquely designed to serve as learning lavatories, inviting visitors to learn about where the water goes, how it gets cleaned up after it’s flushed and ways to play a part in protecting our shared water resources.
Coming soon! Unveiling of the bathrooms is tentatively planned for Fall 2025.
TOUR THE BATHROOMS
Explore the Madison Public Market bathrooms in person or visit them virtually…
A Piece of history
The site of the Madison Public Market at the corner East Johnson and First streets was once home to one of the first wastewater treatment plants in the city, operating between 1899 and 1914. Today, Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District’s Pumping Station 1 sits adjacent to the Market, helping move wastewater from the near eastside of Madison to the Nine Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant.
To bring awareness to the hidden infrastructure that makes our city run and to inspire visitors to respect water through everyday actions, the District led a project to design the Market bathrooms. These learning lavatories (affectionately called Pee-S-As) are an interactive exhibit designed to inform and inspire about the journey wastewater takes to become clean water. Through art and design, we aim to empower everyone to become better stewards of a vital resource.
Bathrooms
Check out the bathroom designs at the Madison Public Market – in person or on a virtual tour.
Plant Tours
Get a closer look at wastewater infrastructure and processes on a plant tour. See how it all works!
Prevent Pollution
What can you do to protect clean water? Your everyday actions help keep pollutants out of the drain.
