Brad Cowman loves Mitchellville, a town of about 2,500 resident about 20 miles east of Des Moines. But Cowman doubts he would have moved there nearly seven years ago had he known about the community's decades-old water problems.
At times, the water coming out of his home's tap looks as brown as an unflushed toilet, he said. "It's just disgusting."
Tests the Iowa Department of Natural Resources recently took of Cowman's water showed it was safe to drink. The day the test was taken, the water was clear, he said. A week before, it was brown for several days.
With water so often discolored, "it's hard to trust that it’s good even if it is," said Cowman, who along with his wife no longer drinks the water. They buy bottled water three or four cases at a time and in gallon jugs for the family's dogs.
Tests at the city's water treatment plant meet the state's safety requirements, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources official says. But the agency has begun to advise Iowans not to drink tap water if it's brown or otherwise discolored. The state is concerned about manganese levels, based on a federal health advisory.
City officials and the DNR agree that minerals, rust and sediment from the community's roughly six-decades-old cast-iron water mains are causing the water's discoloration. The city is replacing the mains, but the job won't be completed for another decade.
With a vote March 2 to build a $1.5 million fire station, some residents question the city's spending priorities. Nothing is more important than clear, clean water, Cowman and others said.
"The city wants to bring more people to town," Cowman said. "But if our water is a problem, they're not going to want to move here."
Complicated choices on priorities, how to pay for them
Mitchellville has been working to replace the city's aging water mains since 2015, said Tammi Dillavou, the city administrator. It has spent nearly $3 million in two rounds of improvements to replace about a third of the water mains.
The city plans to tackle its third round of improvements next year. In the meantime, Dillavou said, city crews have increased flushing water mains, a move that can help keep rust and sediment from building up, although it can also cause some short-term discoloration.
Mitchellville is looking to build a new fire station because the existing facility lacks the space for larger trucks, along with equipment and crew, Dillavou said.
Mayor Dean Brand said the volunteer firefighters sometimes have to crawl through the city's fire trucks to get through the station and must store equipment in an outside storage facility. A survey of residents last year showed about 60% supported a new fire station, Brand said.
And with a new 260-home development slated to come online, the city is concerned about providing adequate fire safety, Dillavou said. With a new station, the city could consider hiring a couple of full- or part-time professional firefighters, she said.
The city has saved about $750,000 to help build a fire station, but if voters approve the bonding Tuesday, that money could be shifted to water main improvements, Dillavou said.
And the city is applying for a $500,000 community development block grant that can be added to the water main replacement pot. The city received a similar-sized grant for its last round of water main improvements.
Asked why the city doesn't borrow enough money to replace all the city's mains, Dillavou said it would likely cost around $10 million, exceeding the town's $4 million limit for general obligation bonds, which are repaid through property taxes.
And covering that cost through revenue bonds — repaid through monthly water bills — would nearly quadruple residents' cost, she estimates. The city has used revenue bonds to pay for the bulk of its most recent water improvements.
The bonds used to cover the first round of improvements increased residents' bills; the second did not, Dillavou said.
"It would be a hardship if we raised the rates high enough to do that many water projects," she said, adding that the work also would tear up many of the city's streets. "It would be a hardship on the town to do it quicker than we're doing it."
Residents live with 'Third World water'
Mitchellville resident Ryan Houska said it's frustrating to pay about $100 each month for water his family is unable to use. Like other Mitchellville residents, his family uses store-bought water for drinking and cooking.
Houska said he's seen water discoloration that ranges from brown to yellow to brownish red. One time, he said, the water looked pink like antifreeze. "We live in a First World country, but we have Third World water," Houska said.
He said he supports the city's volunteer firefighters and their need for a new station, but he wants Mitchellville to fix its water problems first.
Houska would like to see the city contract with Des Moines Water Works for water service, believing the utility would have more financial capacity and expertise to deal with Mitchellville's problems than the city does.
Dillavou said Des Moines Water Works would face the same costs as the city to overhaul its water mains, potentially driving Mitchellville residents' bills higher. "Des Moines would have to pass that cost along through water rates, too," she said.
Houska said he believes Mitchellville residents already pay among the highest rates in Polk County for water, "but if the rates went up, I wouldn't complain because at least we'd be getting water we could use."
Ted Corrigan, the Des Moines Water Works CEO, said this week that the up-front capital costs would be significant to bring water to Mitchellville, with larger mains and other infrastructure required. But, he added, it would be possible.
Houska said the cost of Mitchellville's water issues extend beyond residents' monthly bills. In addition to the expense of bottled water and filters, he said, the water problems are shortening the life of water heaters and other appliances.
"I have people telling me they're replacing their water heaters every four or five years," said Houska, who flushes his water heater every three months. "It blows my mind. They should last every bit of 10 to 15 years."
Cowman said he must run water for several minutes before he or his family can take a shower. Some families won't bathe their children in the water.
"We won't give it to our dogs," he said.
Manganese level a concern, but tests show no problems
The Iowa DNR recommends that residents who have discolored water avoid drinking it unless they have data that confirms the levels of manganese are safe, said Janet Gastineau, a DNR senior environmental specialist.
Manganese, naturally occurring in Iowa's surface and groundwater, is an essential mineral, and people need it in small amounts to be healthy. But the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises that infants up to 6 months old be given water containing no more than 0.3 milligrams per liter of manganese — and the general population, water with no more than 1 milligram per liter — for more than 10 days per year.
Gastineau said the state has received no test data so far that indicates manganese levels in the city's water exceed health advisory levels. The city tests the water each day at the treatment plant and provides the data to the state monthly. No tests are required to be taken from the distribution system.
Dillavou said the city has an independent lab test the water twice a week. And the city logs where residents complain about discolored water so engineers can best target improvements, she said.
Over the past year, the city has received 41 complaints from a total of 665 homes, Dillavou said. "Some homes have problems. Some don't. And they have problems on different days," she said.
Cowman said it's "a crapshoot when you turn on your tap. Will the water be brown or clear?"
City Council member Nick Murrow hopes the city's water main flushing program, combined with increased maintenance on its water tower, can reduce the sediment and rust.
Gastineau said the state also has recommended the town consider a process called "ice pigging," in which an abrasive ice brine slurry is used to scour minerals and sediment from pipes.
Murrow, 29, said he understands that residents are angry about the water problems, which have been a problem as long as he can remember.
"I grew up drinking it and still do on occasion, but some days are worse than others," he said.
"I want to get this issue corrected or at least greatly" improved, Murrow said. "I wouldn't expect anyone to consume the water on those days" when it's discolored.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8457.