Water Department

Water Superintendent
Marty Murphy
1000 N. Cedar Street Jefferson, Iowa 50129
Phone:515-386-2611
Fax: 515-386-4671 (f)

Welcome to the Jefferson Water Department. This is to inform you of our water policies to help you as you settle into Jefferson. A $150.00 water deposit is required from all residents. Water and sewer charges are billed monthly. We read 99% of the water meters in Jefferson near the end of every month with our radio-read truck unit. On your monthly water bill, you will see the current month’s reading and the previous month’s reading. The difference between the readings is your consumption. To convert your usage from Cubic Feet to Gallons per month, click on the following link: Google Unit Converter The net amount is due by the 15th day of the month. Payments may be made at City Hall Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.   An after-hours deposit slot is located to the left of the front door of City Hall and a drive-up drop box is also located in the alley just south of City Hall. These two services are available anytime, day or night, weekend or holiday. For a convenient payment option, direct bank pay is available. Click here for the application form (PDF). Save time and postage by paying your bill online by following the instructions at this link. Instructions for online bill pay, or you can login to the online bill pay system here. Written and verbal notification must be made to discontinue water service. A customer may schedule a time for staff to read the water meter for the final billing by calling City Hall (515-386-3111). The reading may be taken from the outside with the radio-read equipment. However, if a customer requests the meter be removed to stop additional water charges, staff must access the meter on the inside of the residence. In the event a bill is not paid by the 15th of the month a 10% penalty is applied. A disconnection notice will be sent by regular mail as a reminder for payment. If the bill is not paid by 8 a.m. of date on disconnection notice, water will be disconnected. To restore service, the total amount past due plus an $85.00 reconnection fee must be PAID IN FULL. Reconnections will only be completed between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:45 p. m., Monday through Friday. An adult must be present at the residence before service will be restored. Some Interesting Facts  The Jefferson Water Treatment Plant provides water to more than 2100 homes and businesses in Jefferson. In addition, water service is provided to the schools, hospital and industrial factories. The water distribution system consists of more than 42 miles of water mains ranging in size from 2” to 16". The mains are mostly cast iron and ductile iron with some PVC. More than 265 hydrants are available for fire protection. Water Treatment Plant Process Three certified city employees manage the Water Treatment Plant located at 1000 N. Cedar Street in Jefferson. The plant was constructed in 1996-97, and can be operated automatically. Through a computerized control system, we can both monitor and change settings at any point throughout the treatment process. The water goes from the raw water pumped from six wells to the finished water provided to the public.

  1. Water is pumped from a combination of six wells to the water plant location.
  2. The raw water flows through the induced draft aerators, which mixes air with the water to help precipitate iron out of the water.
  3. The raw water enters the detention tanks where it slowly moves through baffles before it enters the filters. This detention time allows the iron, manganese and solids to settle out.
  4. The raw water enters the declining rate sand filters where it passes through approximately 30 inches of sand which filters the iron and manganese out as it settles on top of the sand. The filters are set to backwash on timed cycles with a combination air and water scour. The backwash water containing iron and manganese is directed through a waste valve where it is pumped to a large tank called the filter backwash tank. The backwash water sets for several hours and then a floating decant pump transfers approximately 70% of the clear backwash water back to the detention tanks to be recycled. A 3-way valve then redirects the remaining 30% of the dirty backwash water to the waste tank, where it is later pumped to the wastewater treatment plant.
  5. The filtered water comes out of the bottom of the filters and is collected in a gullet and then passes through to a 250,000 gallon ground storage tank located outside of the plant and then to two clear wells inside the plant.
  6. The filtered water is then pumped from the two clear wells by one of three high-service pumps to the softeners.
  7. Approximately 80% of the filtered water passes through 4 ion-exchange softeners where it passes through a zeolite media that attracts the calcium and magnesium, which are two of the prime components that cause hard water. The other 20% of the filtered water bypasses the softeners so we can blend the water to approximately 5 to 6 grains of hardness to the public. The softeners are also on a timed cycle and go through a backwash cycle after softening approximately 190,000 gallons of water. A brine solution is pumped through the softeners, which causes the polarity of the zeolite to reverse thereby releasing the calcium and magnesium from the millions of tiny zeolite balls. Then the softener goes through a slow rinse and a fast rinse to rinse the remaining calcium, magnesium and salt from the softeners.

Once the 80 % softened and 20 % filtered (non-softened) water is blended together, it goes through the final stage of adding chemicals before it is pumped to the water tower and into the distribution system. This final stage is comprised of adding chlorine, fluoride and polyphosphate. Chlorination is done to kill any bacteria that may possibly exist in the distribution system and in the 1,000,000 gallon elevated tower. The addition of fluorosilicic acid is supposed to help prevent dental decay and the addition of polyphosphate is to provide a microscopic protective film to coat the interior of the distribution system piping to reduce red water from iron precipitation and to help reduce corrosion in the piping. Check the FAQ for more information

Upcoming Events

  • No events