Alpena Water Treatment Line Cleared of Debris, Sand

Last week, crews from the Michel’s Corporation cleared a plug in the intake used to draw water from Lake Huron into the Water Treatment Center in Alpena.

The plug was discovered in the spring, so the city of Alpena sought assistance in clearing the plug.

Fortunately, the plug was discovered in between the first intake which is out 2,000 feet from shore, and the middle intake which is 1,000 feet out, so the city was able to bring in water for the duration of the summer.

The intake still needed to be taken care of before it became an issue, so the city had to enlist help from a company that would want to inspect the issue and also remove the plug.

Michel’s Corporation in Wisconsin discovered sand and debris buildup in the intake and were able to clear it out.

“They cleared everything out and we’re back up running on either place now, and we usually close the one that’s further out anyway for the winter because you get into ice buildup and things like that, but we are indeed, the entire intake is open now,” said Alpena city engineer Steve Schultz.

The issue was treated before it became more pressing. They will now look closer at how to prevent it from happening in the future.

“We have to look at what could we do and what do we need to do in the future to kind of protect that end so we don’t get all that debris in there, or what’s going on, so we’ll have to kind of take a look at it and see,” said Schultz.