There have been some questions about the brownish colored water the last couple weeks. The brownish color is caused by iron which is a secondary contaminant and the guideline to follow from MDH is .3 mg/l. Based on the samples that are taken several times weekly the typical level in our water system is .04 mg/l to .00 mg/l. When you see that brownish color is at about that .3 level. A couple things that I believe are causing this now are they have recently turned one of the new water mains online which has stirred the system some. Half the mains are made of cast iron which can get into the water. Most of the time that iron will just settle out into the water mains but to speed that up I flushed hydrants today to just get rid of it. It is not coming from the water plant itself. The water is perfectly safe to drink and cook with. The typical affect it has is just taste, odor, and color.
Sam- City of Ortonville water department