Services
Water and Sewer
The water system for Fort Madison consists of a water plant east of the city limits. The facility has three shallow wells, three booster stations, two million gallon ground storage reservoirs, and one 500,000 gallon elevated storage sphere. The distribution system is cast iron or ductile iron. The water composition is 90 percent Mississippi River water to 7 percent well water. The City sells about 600,000 gallons a day to Rathbun Regional Rural Water Association.
The sewer treatment plant was built in 1966 on 20th Street. The sewer system in Fort Madison is about 50 to 100 years old and is predominantly in fair to good condition. The town does have some combination storm and sanitary sewers in the east third or the older portions of the community.
Solid Waste and the Recycling Program
The City does the pick-up of solid waste & disposes of it at the Great River Regional Waste Authority (GRRWA) landfill. Recycling is paid for out of solid waste collection fees. The service accepts paper, plastics, glass and cans. The City also provides a yard waste program for residential customers. The recycling program alternates every other Wednesday from the yard waste pick-up.
Fort Madison has one public library. The current library is the Cattermole Library, located at 614 7th Street. Fort Madison has purchased a building in the center of town, which is being renovated to house a new library complex. The new facility will be handicap accessible and will be abble to offer more opportuntities to the general public. The scheduled date of completion is 2007
The Cattermole Library was built in 1894 and has been in constant use since that time. The building is on the National register of Historic Places. Local History and Genealogy materials are located in this library.
The library has Wireless Internet access; slide projectors; screens; and overhead projectors are available for rent. The Library serves patrons within a twenty-mile radius. The library can also access materials that are available through the State of Iowa Libraries program and a nation wide network.
There is an autonomous nine-member board, including a voting member from the county that governs the library. The city does provide funding for the library. There is also a voluntary group, Friends of the Library, which annually holds a book sale to raise money for the library. The profit of the sale has been used to fund computers, printers, and microfilm equipment.
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