That privately owned water department, called "The Peoples Water Company of Baltimore, Maryland," remained that way until 1920, when the City of Oskaloosa purchased the water department for $230,000 and renamed it "The Oskaloosa Municipal Water Department." 
 
Shown is the water treatment plant in 1902. The building remains in use today although it has been remodeled several times. The smoke stack has been removed and notice also, that the river shown here behind the building today flows nearly a 1/4 mile to the north.   

At that time, the City of Oskaloosa sold a total of $300,000 worth of revenue bonds, both for the initial purchase, and to make $70,000 worth of improvements to the infrastructure. The Mayor immediately appointed a three member Board of Trustees to oversee the water department operations and employees were hired. 

There have been many changes made to the entire water system since 1920. The treatment plant has seen many modifications, the source water has changed completely, and the distribution system has been added to and upgraded many times. 

Currently, the source water is provided entirely by wells along the South Skunk River. The treatment process is very extensive and includes lime softening. Many miles of water mains in the distribution system range from four inches to twenty inches in size. The system also includes two elevated storage tanks (water towers) and approximately 5,200 active accounts, or meters, in the system.