Ruptured Water Main Floods Streets & Leaves Much of City Without Water

IRONWOOD, MI - Friday, January 09, 2009 - A ruptured sixteen inch service main in front of the Depot Antique shop at 318 North Lake Street has knocked out water utility service to a large portion of the City of Ironwood. Many households were either without water or experienced extreme low pressure and discoloration. Thousands of gallons of water were dumped onto the street, and the water followed the frost line flooding part the intersection of Cloverland Drive and Lake Street as well as other parts of the City.

Dave Ramme Collision had to be sandbagged as water rushed through the the businesses auto lot. Ironwood Public Safety, the Ironwood Volunteer Fire Department, the Gogebic County Sheriff Department, and the Michigan State Police were on the scene. Mayor Bruce Noren, Utilities Manager Bob Tervonen, City Assessor/Building Inspector Dennis Hewitt, City Manager Scott Erickson and many other City Staff on hand to make the needed repairs.

The Department of Public Works and the Water Department were out in full force trying to contain the water and to minimize the damages. The City's vactor truck was on hand to clear storm drains in an attempt to divert the rapid stream of water.

The Chronicle apologizes for the quality of the photos above. Pictures were captured at both 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM, and the lighting was far from ideal. We also apologize if we failed to give credit to any other entities that were on hand to assist. We will update this story as more information becomes available.