Info on Water Services
For Residential Customers
One of Owatonna's most valuable natural resources is its abundant, high-quality supply of groundwater. Water for Owatonna's residential and business needs is supplied by nine wells ranging in depth from 750 feet to 1,325 feet, drawing groundwater from the Prairie du Che'n formation. These wells are dispersed throughout the city to maximize reliability and quality. Combined well capacity is 14.7 million gallons per day (mgd) with an average daily demand of 4.2 mgd. Available water storage includes elevated storage tanks with a combined capacity of 3.25 million gallons, and a 1.0 million gallon ground level storage tank. The local groundwater is considered moderately hard (17.1 grains per gallon) and requires very little treatment - chlorine for disinfecting, taste and odor control, fluoride to promote dental health and polyphosphates to avoid staining problems associated with naturally-occurring iron in the water.
Every year in the spring, OPU flushes water mains to remove iron deposits from the lines and decreases the problem of rusty water.
Owatonna Public Utilities owns and maintains the water mains within the city of Owatonna. The service lines that run from the water main to the buidling are owned and maintained by the property owner. The exact point ownership is the "corp" or valve connected directly to the tap in the water main. The corp is owned by OPU, the rest of the water service, including the "curb stop" or any other valves, are owned by the property owner.
General Water Characteristics of the City of Owatonna
mg/L or ppm: means Milligrams per Liter or Parts per Million
| DESCRIPTION | RESULTS |
| pH | 7.7 units |
| Temperature | 42 degrees |
| Solids, Total Dissolved | 461 mg/L |
| Sulfate | 16 mg/L |
| Chloride | 57.6 mg/L |
| Total Alkalinity | 320 mg/L |
| Specific Conductance | 816.0 umhos/cm |
| Calcium | 74 mg/L |
| Magnesium | 35.0 mg/L |
| Sodium | 13 mg/L |
| Aluminum | < .028 mg/L |
| Iron | .007 mg/L |
| Manganese | .025 mg/L |
| Zinc | .003 mg/L |
| Fluoride | .3 natural mg/L |
| Average Chlorine Free | .04 mg/L |
| Average Chlorine Total | 1.3 mg/L |
| Average Hardness | 17.1 mg/L |
The public water supply for Owatonna is tested regularly for these contaminant groups:
- Coliform Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Nitrite
- Inorganics
- Volatile Organics
- Trihalomethanes
- Synthetic Organics
- Radiochemicals
There are approximately 120 different contaminants tested with these groups.
Note: OPU water meets or exceeds all Federal and State water standards.
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Owatonna Public Utilities
P.O. Box 800 Owatonna, MN 55060-0800 |
Phone: 1-507-451-2480
Fax: 1-507-451-4940 |