Water Treatment

The City of Ironwood is excited to announce the upcoming completion of its new Water Treatment Plant. This project has been an aspiration of the City of Ironwood for decades and is finally here! Over the past three years, through the help of state and federal granting agencies, the project has been built and will start to distribute filtered and treated water to the community in late June 2026! As we are finishing up the final stages of construction, we wanted to inform you of the exciting things that this plant will provide.

This plant is removing an array of sediments from the well water supply that comes from the North Ironwood ground water system. As the water is pumped from the ground, trace amounts of natural sediments, come with it. This water filtration plant will be able to remove those sediments: mainly Iron and Manganese.

Currently in the City's underground water line system, there is a minor coating of iron and manganese attached to the inside of all water pipes under the streets. For the past decades, the City has been conducting hydrant flushing in the spring and the fall, to help remove this sediment from the system. Now that the water will be filtered before entering the water distribution system, sediment will no longer be accumulating in the water lines. Over the estimated next couple of years, the water lines will continue to be flushed in the Spring and Fall to remove the existing sediment buildup. It is expected that as time goes on, the existing sediment buildup will diminish and become less of an issue in the years to come. The City will continue to monitor the success of flushing events to determine how long the water line flushing will need to occur into future.

On Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM at the Memorial Building auditorium, the City of Ironwood will host a public information meeting to update the public on the new water treatment project. Engineers, State officials, Western UP Health Department, and other experts will be present to explain the new water treatment process and what this will mean to the residents of Ironwood. During the informational meeting, experts will discuss the water filtration process to remove Iron and Manganese. They will also go over the change to add fluoride into the water system, beyond what is already naturally occurring in the water today. After the presentation of information about the new water treatment system, we will have a Q&A session where the public will be able to ask questions to the panel of experts present at the meeting.

Why is the City upgrading the water treatment process?

What improvements will residents notice after the upgrade?

How much did the project cost?

The entire project cost $22 Million, roughly ¾ of that cost was grant funded. The total cost of Phase 1 was approximately $11.6M financed with $5.8M of low interest loan funds and $5.8M of grant funding from USDA Rural Development. Phase 2 is nearly complete and consists of $11M of funding from the State of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in the form of 100% grant.

Who regulates and oversees the City’s drinking water quality?

What are iron and manganese, and why are they being removed from the water?

Iron and manganese are common, naturally occurring metallic elements frequently found in groundwater and private wells. While not typically health hazards, they are considered secondary contaminants because they create aesthetic issues like bitter, metallic taste and orange/brown (iron) or black (manganese) stains on plumbing fixtures and laundry. Filtering these out of the water will greatly improve the City’s water quality.

Will removing iron and manganese improve color or staining?

Fluoride Infographic

Why is fluoride being added to the water system and when was this decision made?

Fluoride is a great oral health tool. Fluoride combines with the outer enamel tooth layers to prevent cavities by making teeth stronger and more resistant to decay. Almost all water contains naturally occurring fluoride, but normally too low to prevent cavities. Just like many other municipalities do, we will be adding a small amount of fluoride into the system to prevent cavities and promote good oral health.

The Ironwood City Commission made the decision to add fluoride to the new drinking water treatment plant in 2021.

What level of fluoride will be added, and who determines safe fluoride levels?

Is fluoride safe for pregnant women? Children? Elderly? What about pets?

What do major health organizations say about community water fluoridation?

Why is chlorine added to drinking water, and is it safe? Will chlorine levels change with the new treatment process?

Chlorine is added to drinking water to help disinfect the water from any harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Some of these are known as E. Coli and Giardia which can cause diseases such as cholera and typhoid. It then acts as a residual disinfectant to make sure that as the water travels through the pipes it remains safe to drink.

The chlorine levels in our drinking water are safe. Every day, through routine operations, chlorine levels are monitored to make sure they are always being fed at a safe level into the distribution system. The chlorine levels are not changing in the new treatment plant, compared to what have historically been used at our previous pump station.

Who can I contact to get more information?

Introducing the New Water Treatment Plant!

Increased Water Quality

Decreased Flushing Events

Public Information Meeting

FAQ

General

Iron and Manganese Removal

Fluoride

Chlorine and Disinfection

Contact

Other Fluoride Information

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