Water & Sewer

Utility Administrative Office 210 Harbor Drive Alpena, Michigan 49707 Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  Phone: 989.354.1400 Fax: 989.354.8472

• Operation of the water and wastewater treatment plants
• Water distribution system
• Wastewater collection system
• Water meter reading
• Utility billing 

Storm sewer reactive and preventive maintenance is also performed.

Water Treatment Plant
1300 South State Avenue
Alpena, Michigan 49707
Phone: 989.356.0757
Fax: 989.356.5862

In 1922 construction began on a 3.0 Million Gallons Per Day (MGD) treatment facility. The project included two sedimentation basins, four rapid sand filters, and a 500,000 gallon finished water clear well. In 1935 an additional 500,000 gallon clear well was constructed. There were two major additions to the plant; the first occurred in 1953 when the steam pumping plant was upgraded to an electric high service pumping station. The Ninth Street elevated storage tank was also erected at this time. This tower has a capacity of 750,000 gallons. The second plant expansion occurred in 1965. Plant capacity increased from 3.0 MGD to 5.25 MGD, with the addition of three filters, new mixing and flocculation basin, additional sedimentation basin, new low service pumping building, as well as new chemical feed equipment. In 1972 the City added further elevated storage with the placing of the North Industrial tank. Water service to Alpena Township began with the construction of the Piper Road tank in 1977 and the M-32 tank in 1978. New chemical feed building, storage garage, and housing for the new standby generator took place in 1999. The most recent changes to the system include the US-23 South elevated storage for the Township in 2006 and the sedimentation sludge removal equipment at the plant in 2007. At present, the plant capacity is six million gallons per day. Plans to increase capacity to eight million gallons per day are in the near future.

Water Recycling Plant
210 Harbor Drive
Alpena, Michigan 49707
Phone: 989.354.1400
Fax: 989.354.8472

The original plant became operational in 1953 and many of the treatment units remain in use today. The first treatment equipment consisted of 

a pump station, flow meters, four clarifiers to physically remove solid mate

r

ia

ls from the waste stream, and two sludge pumps. Two Anaerobic D

igesters (Primary and Secondary) were used to biologically reduce the orga

nics in the solids that are removed as part of the treatment process.  Sludge drying beds were used to dewater and dry treatment residuals. The final treatment process involved the addition of chlorine gas to kill pathogenic organisms before the treated wastewater was discharged to the Thunder Bay River. The plant removed about 15 to 20% of the pollutants that entered the facility.  In 1972, the plant was upgraded to improve pollutant removal capability. Using grant funds from the USEPA, secondary treatment was added to the facility. A biological treatment process called Activated Sludge was used to enhance removal of dissolved pollutants from the wastewater. This addition improved pollutant removal rates and the plant regularly achieves 90 to 95% pollutant removal efficiency.