Quality water is important to all of us - in our home life and business environment.  HMU adheres to all mandated and many self-imposed standards to bring quality water to Harlan. 

Click here to read our 2008 Water Quality Report.

The City of Harlan's water is supplied by 23 shallow wells located along the Nishnabotna River.  The existing treatment plant and equipment were updated in 1978 and again in 1989. Harlan's water plant is a full treatment lime softening plant utilizing coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, chlorination and fluoridation.   These processes provide soft water, which saves customers in detergent bills and hard water scale in boilers and heat exchangers.

The average finished water test results are:

Six water samples are collected monthly from rotating locations throughout the city and are submitted to Mangold Environmental Testing Laboratories for bacteria analysis.

Further analysis is done every three years by the State Hygienic Laboratory and includes tests for lead and copper, volatile organic compounds and synthetic organic compounds, per state requirements.  Radiological testing is performed every four years.  Copies of all test results are available upon request.   Harlan's water is not only clean and safe for drinking, but also clear, refreshing, and delicious.

• We serve over 2,400 residential, rural, and industrial customers.
• A 500,000 gallon water tower was added to our system in July of 2000 giving us two towers with total storage capacity of 1 million gallons.
• Clear wells on the HMU campus provide another 900,000 gallons of storage.
• Average gallons of water through our plant each day: over 500,000
• Our staff consists of 5 licensed operators ranging from 3 to 14 years of experience in the operation of lime softening plant and distribution system.

HMU Water Department:
Front row: Steve Dresen-Director Water/Gas- since 1990, Tom Hansen - Water System Maintenance Technician, since 1990, Back Row: Ron Block - Water Systems Operation Technician, since 1992, Kevin Bissen -  Water Systems Operation Technician, since 1996, Chris Cote -Water System Operation Technician, Since 2007, Donald Cote- Water Systems Operation Technician, since 2006,
 

Two shifts operate per day to provide complete service to our customers.

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