City of Grinnell recently issued the following announcement.
The Grinnell Water Department has been forced to shut down the water softening process at the Grinnell Water Treatment Facility. Due to the age and very poor condition of the steel tanks that are integral to this process, water softening will be suspended until further notice. The source water for the Grinnell Water Treatment Facility is the Jordan Aquifer. The natural hardness that comes to the facility is around 375 – 425 mg/l (22 – 25 grains of hardness), and the treatment facility was able to bring these numbers typically down to a range of 180-220 mg/l (10 – 13 grains of hardness). With the softening process offline, it is expected that hardness will be in the range of 375-425 mg/l. Hardness is not a health risk and water is completely safe for all uses.
We anticipate building a new water treatment facility in the next five to seven years. The current facility was partially renovated in 1952 and 1993. The city has secured the land necessary to build the new facility and preliminary planning for the facility is underway. Staff will work with the Mayor and City Council to determine if the investment to rebuild the existing water softening system is worthwhile knowing a new plant is inevitable. The Water Department is currently working on ways to remediate this issue, but the Grinnell Water Treatment Facility softening process is expected to be offline for the foreseeable future.
If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Water Director Jordon Altenhofen at (641) 990-7521 or JAltenhofen@grinnelliowa.gov
Original source can be found here.
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