Is there one sidewalk deadline for all of Waukesha County?

No. Twenty-four hours is the most common clock, but Merton gives six daylight hours, the Town of Oconomowoc says promptly each day, Waukesha's own pages disagree, Brookfield has no owner duty, and Muskego clears sidewalks itself. Each municipality sets its own rule and the table on the sidewalk page lists them.

Which snow rule applies everywhere?

The ban on putting snow in the street. Wis. Stat. § 346.94(5) bars placing on a highway “any foreign substance which is or may be injurious to any vehicle,” and every local code that addresses the subject repeats it in its own words.

Who do I call about a rule in my village?

The village or city itself. This site does not publish municipal phone numbers beyond what a municipality prints on its own page, and it prefers to link to the source. Each page here names the section so the reader can find it in the code.

Snow Rules in Waukesha County, WI — Sidewalks, Streets, Parking, Salt

The Pattern

What the County’s Codes Have in Common, and Where They Split

A county-wide sentence about snow rules in Waukesha County is almost always wrong somewhere. The closest thing to a common rule is the sidewalk clock: 24 hours after the snow stops in Elm Grove, Menomonee Falls, the Village of Pewaukee, Delafield, Oconomowoc, Sussex, Mukwonago and Wales. Then the exceptions begin. Merton gives owners six daylight hours, the shortest deadline in the county. The Town of Oconomowoc says “promptly, each day.” The City of Waukesha publishes 24 hours on one page and 12 on another, so this site publishes neither and prints only the city’s clear-and-bill rates. Brookfield repealed its owner-duty section outright. Muskego clears its own sidewalks and says it will not require owners to. Hartland’s deadline could not be found, New Berlin’s is unresolved, and Chenequa has no sidewalks.

Two things really are universal. Every code that addresses the subject bans putting snow in the street, and the state backs that with Wis. Stat. § 346.94(5). And every municipality runs an overnight parking ban, though the hours run from 2–5 a.m. to 2–8 a.m. and the season runs year-round in Waukesha and Brookfield, November through March in Hartland, Sussex, Mukwonago and Merton, November through April in the Town of Brookfield, and December through March in Oconomowoc. Menomonee Falls declares a snow emergency automatically at three inches. Delafield tightens parking at four inches in 24 hours.

The Pages

Seven Rules, Each With Its Own Page

Sidewalk snow ordinances

The municipality-by-municipality table: deadline, section, and what happens when the owner does not clear.

Who plows your street

County trunk highways, state routes under WisDOT contract, village streets, and the private road nobody plows.

Snow in the street is illegal

The state statute, the local sections that repeat it, and the one city that tells owners where to put the pile.

Overnight parking and snow emergencies

Hours, seasons, forfeitures and emergency triggers, by municipality.

Salt and the lakes

Chloride in Pewaukee Lake, Little Muskego, North Lake and the Fox River, and the 15 °F line where rock salt quits.

Contractor licensing

There is none in Wisconsin, and what to ask for instead.

Slip-and-fall liability

The three-week rule, the cases, and why the contract decides between a contractor and the owner.

Where the Rules Come From

State Statute Underneath, Local Code on Top

Every clear-and-bill sidewalk ordinance in the county rests on Wis. Stat. § 66.0907(5): “The board of public works shall keep the sidewalks of the city clear of snow and ice in all cases where the owners or occupants of abutting lots fail to do so.” The cost comes back to the owner as a special charge under § 66.0627, the section Menomonee Falls and the Village of Pewaukee name in their own codes. The street-dumping rule is state law first, § 346.94(5) and § 86.022, and local code second. The county plows the lettered county trunk highways and, under a contract WisDOT is allowed to sign by § 84.07(1), the numbered state routes. Municipal immunity for snow and ice on a public way is § 893.83, the three-week rule.

Two cautions on the material. The statute texts were read on mirror sites because the Legislature’s own server blocks automated readers, and the codified sections were read where the municipality’s code host would serve them. Where a section could not be read, the page says so rather than guessing. And the rules described here are for the public right-of-way. The end-of-driveway berm the municipal plow leaves is addressed by no county or municipal page in Waukesha County; that silence is covered on the berm page.

Common Questions

Questions People Ask About This

Is there one sidewalk deadline for all of Waukesha County?: No. Twenty-four hours is the most common clock, but Merton gives six daylight hours, the Town of Oconomowoc says promptly each day, Waukesha’s own pages disagree, Brookfield has no owner duty, and Muskego clears sidewalks itself. Each municipality sets its own rule and the table on the sidewalk page lists them.
Which snow rule applies everywhere?: The ban on putting snow in the street. Wis. Stat. § 346.94(5) bars placing on a highway “any foreign substance which is or may be injurious to any vehicle,” and every local code that addresses the subject repeats it in its own words.
Who do I call about a rule in my village?: The village or city itself. This site does not publish municipal phone numbers beyond what a municipality prints on its own page, and it prefers to link to the source. Each page here names the section so the reader can find it in the code.

Local Snow Rules Across Waukesha County