Clean drinking water has always been important, but Wausau Water Works was built in 1885 primarily to supply water for fighting fires. That year was an especially bad fire year in Wausau, with 23 alarm fires, including a lumberyard fire. When fires blazed, the water works pumped from the Wisconsin River rather than a well. In cases of large fires, the fire department asked the waterworks operator to sound a city-wide steam whistle, signaling residents to stop using water so it could be used to fight the fire. Before 1885, Wausau residents drew water from a well or from the river and carried it in buckets. Today, the plant treats and supplies more than 5 million gallons of clean water daily through a network of nearly 200 miles of water mains.