Marshalltown Water Works celebrates 150 years
T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors help mark the 150th anniversary of Marshalltown Water Works with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
Marshalltown Water Works employee Ryan McRill grills burgers and hot dogs for the 150th anniversary celebration. The utility set up a tent, tables and chairs to give attendees a free meal, and to let them see renderings of the under-construction water treatment plant.
T-R PHOTOS BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors help mark the 150th anniversary of Marshalltown Water Works with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
Marshalltown Water Works employee Ryan McRill grills burgers and hot dogs for the 150th anniversary celebration. The utility set up a tent, tables and chairs to give attendees a free meal, and to let them see renderings of the under-construction water treatment plant.
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Being in operation for 150 years is no small feat, for any entity or business. Yet Marshalltown Water Works (MWW) celebrated such a milestone on Wednesday.
The community was invited to the 150th Anniversary Celebration which included grilled burgers and hot dogs, the chance to look at renderings of the $65 million 6-million gallon treatment plant and a slideshow of pictures taken through the years.
General Manager Zach Maxfield said they wanted to celebrate the anniversary with the community and give residents the chance to ask any questions.
"One hundred fifty years is a big thing," he said. "MWW has some of, if not the, best water in the state. We wouldn't be here without our workers and customers. We wanted to give back to them."
Even though water quality in Iowa has decreased significantly, that is not the case in Marshalltown. Maxfield said MWW does not draw water from the Iowa River, but rather utilizes source wells with great quality water. Plus, members of the staff work hard to meet the high standards.
"They take their jobs very seriously and are willing to come in at all hours of the night to not only make sure the water we get from our wells is treated properly, but also our distribution and utility crews who are out fixing main breaks and making sure the water gets to your house," he said. "It's been a team effort, and the standard set 150 years ago which we still try to do today."
Having quality sources helps to reduce the concerns other parts of the state deal with, and Maxfield said they test regularly. Therefore, MWW does not worry about nitrates or PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances).
Even though the wells provide great water, MWW is searching for and testing additional wells to use. Maxfield said the search goes hand-in-hand with the new treatment plant, on which construction began in October 2025. It is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2028, and will make an 18-million-gallon system, an increase from the 12 million MWW has now.
"That's what we're doing to invest in our system and continue excellence," he said. "We're also spending money on a new distribution system to update that. There's a lot of projects going on to invest in the system and make sure we have another 150 years."
To help pay for the system and upgrades, Maxfield said they have increased water rates for years.
"Ten years ago, we had the lowest water rates in the state," he said. "When you have the lowest water rates, you're not investing in your system. It's hard to spend money on water mains, new projects, things like that when you can't collect the funds. So, we've slowly, over the last eight years, increased rates to help pay for the project. We've known for a long time that this is coming and we need to get ready for it."
On average, MWW treats more than 6 million gallons of water each day for more than 10,000 customers. Amongst residents and Marshalltown visitors, it is not uncommon to hear praises for the great-tasting Marshalltown water. It is something residents want to continue, and do not want to see threatened, which is a concern brought up a few times during the data center information meetings.
Maxfield is not concerned about a possible future data center impacting water quality.
"They would need water, but we don't know the amount," he said. "There's no concern because they would pull water just like any other customers are going to. They are not going to be pumping that water through their system, and back into ours. We don't have concerns about [a data center] polluting our water or people getting sick. We make sure whatever customers that come to town aren't going to bleed us of the water that we have."
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.