State Health Officials Tour Brooklyn Center’s Water Treatment Plant

The city of Brooklyn Center once dealt with a high concentration of manganese in its water supply. The health department issued an advisory, and after an extensive study, the city determined that a new water treatment plant was the best way to address the potential health risk.

Since the city built the plant in 2016, manganese has not been an issue.

“We have excellent drinking water,” said Brooklyn Center Mayor Tim Willson. “Now the iron’s gone. The manganese is gone, the contaminants are very, very low and all within specs.”

Minnesota Department of Health officials toured Brooklyn Center’s water treatment plant Thursday afternoon in honor of ‘Safe Drinking Water Week.’

The plant was built at a cost of $18 million and treats seven million gallons of water a day.

Minnesota Dept. of Health Tours Water Treatment Plant

The tour was an opportunity for people to learn about Minnesota’s invisible heroes — such as those who work at water treatment plants — and how they work in partnership with the state to protect Minnesotans every day.

“When people turn their faucet on, they want water, right? And when they don’t have water, they’re making phone calls,” said Michael Weber, Brooklyn Center’s public utilities supervisor. “I think to have everybody be able to turn their water on and have sufficient water to do their daily needs, I think  that is really important.”

Other cities have even reached out to Brooklyn Center for advice on water treatment. For instance, Weber says Blaine reached out because they might be building a new water treatment plant.

Brooklyn Center