Water Leak on the Corner of Tamarack and Hazel

IRONWOOD, MI - Monday, September 08, 2008 - "Let me tell you a story about a man named Jed... a poor mountaineer bearly kept his family fed... then one day he was shootin' at some food... when up through the ground came a bubblin' crude..."

Hold on Jed! Oil it ain't! This ain't no Texas tea! It's an underground water leak on the corner of Tamarack and Hazel Streets! So you packing up and leaving Bugtussle yet! The good news, you still can't feed your family, but at least they won't die of thirst.

At a budget workshop held by the City Commission on April 28, 2008, Utilities Director Bob Tervonen explained that Ironwood's water system was built for a population of 15,000, and currently, including Hurley and Ironwood Township, roughly 9,000 are using it. Bob explained that water loss when he started in 1994 was roughly 79%. He said the loss in the recent past was down to approximately 38%, however losses increased last year.

At a March 11, 2008 City Commission meeting, Tervonen reported that the annual water loss for 2006-2007 increased to 51%. He said the increase could be due to several factors: leaks underground that have not been discovered; faulty antiquated water meters that don't accurately measure the amount of water being used; and theft. He went on to say that he didn't believe theft was a big part of it.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Allowing millions of gallons of treated municipal water to pour freely from an uncorrected, underground leak certainly doesn't improve the efficiency of the system! One certainly can't blame our City water crews. They have too much work on their plate, and there isn't enough manpower to do the work required. The City needs to seriously address the shortage of labor they currently have, and considering the lack of workforce, they need to prioritize the workload. When general contractors bid a job, the City crews should not be troubled with that job -- no matter what! Neglecting a leak such as the one featured in this article is costing the City, and ultimately the water customers of the City, thousands of dollars. Having our City crews do work that has been bid out by others makes no sense whatsoever. This is clearly a case of poor management. The City Commission needs to start questioning our City Manager, and they need to make it clear to him that he either needs to start exercising good judgement or he needs to start seeking employment elsewhere.