Urbandale receives regional water update; utility outlines ASR well plan, capacity needs and lead-line inventory

Urbandale city leaders received an update on Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) and Urbandale Water Utility operations, capacity planning and near-term projects at a City Council meeting where utility staff described planned treatment-plant expansions, a local aquifer storage-and-recovery (ASR) well and the status of the lead service line inventory.

The regional authority formed by a group of metro utilities now serves a large portion of Central Iowa and is planning treatment capacity increases to meet projected demand through 2050. The Urbandale Water Utility also described a locally owned ASR well intended to store water in the Jordan aquifer for summer use and outlined timelines, costs and community impacts.

Tammy Madsen, executive director of Central Iowa Water Works, told the council that CIWW is a regional authority with 12 founding member agencies and “we serve over 600,000 water users.” She said the regional network currently has roughly 125.5 million gallons per day (MGD) of treatment capacity but that demand and water-quality constraints will require growth: “What we need to be able to treat is 208,200,000 gallons per day by the year 2050.” Madsen described active planning and RFQs for new or expanded facilities including a planned West plant near Van Meter, an expansion at the Grimes plant and further expansion at the Saylorville Water Treatment Plant.

Neil Weiss, general manager of Urbandale Water Utility, gave local details about the distribution system and Urbandale’s purchase capacity from CIWW. “There’s roughly 250 miles of public water main in the water distribution system,” Weiss said, and described Urbandale’s west and east pressure zones, existing towers and the LP Moon pumping/reservoir site that supplies much of the west zone. Weiss said Urbandale’s current peak demand is about 10.5 MGD and its present purchase capacity is about 13.7 MGD; the Saylorville expansion will raise that to roughly 14.2 MGD, and the planned ASR well could add as much as 3 MGD of effective capacity in some planning scenarios.

Urbandale staff and CIWW leaders discussed how capacity can be constrained by source-water quality. Madsen said plants can lose treatment throughput during high-nitrate periods — noting the Floor Drive plant’s nitrate removal equipment — and emphasized regional cooperation so one plant’s temporary reduction will not cut service to customers. She also repeated a cost benchmark the region is using for planning: “Every million gallons that we have to build out in a treatment plant costs about $20,000,000.”

ASR well project: scope, cost and timing

Weiss outlined Urbandale’s planned ASR well, which would be an Urbandale-owned asset that stores treated water in the Jordan aquifer during low-demand months and extracts it during summer peaks. He described the process and local siting at the city’s 170th Street tower site, noting existing separation distances at that parcel and the advantage of underground storage over building large aboveground reservoirs.

Weiss gave a near-term cost and timeline estimate: the ASR project’s current estimate is about $14 million to add up to 3 MGD of usable capacity; the design phase is expected to take about a year and construction plus required well testing and permitting could take roughly three years, with full production targeted around 2029. Weiss also warned that well drilling is an intensive, continuous activity once it starts: drilling for the well can run 24 hours a day for three to five months and will require sound-mitigation planning because of nearby schools. He pointed to West Des Moines’ recent ASR drilling as an example and said the West Des Moines project used a 25-foot sound wall and that staff there reported no noise complaints.

Funding and governance

Madsen and Weiss described CIWW’s and member agencies’ funding approaches. CIWW’s expansions are funded by member agencies under the existing 28E intergovernmental agreement; member utilities may use State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans, cash or other financing for their allocated share. Madsen said RFQs for the West plant were closed and an award recommendation was expected from CIWW’s technical committee the following day, with a formal board recommendation to follow next month.

Lead service line inventory and other regulatory items

Weiss reviewed Urbandale’s lead service line inventory work required under federal and state rule revisions. He said the utility has about 17,000 service lines in its inventory, has submitted an initial draft to regulators and currently lists roughly 2,800 service lines as “unknown but not lead” while staff continue in-person inspections and potholing to close unknowns. Weiss told the council that, to date, “We have not found a single lead line in all of our investigations.” He added that the final inventory submission is due in November 2027 and that a school and childcare sampling program will begin in 2027 under the revised rules.

Customer impacts, rates and conservation

Weiss summarized recent and planned customer-facing items. Urbandale adjusted rates effective May 1: a 5.5% increase on irrigation rates and a 3.5% increase on residential service. Staff reminded the council that irrigation now requires a separate meter for new systems and said CIWW and Urbandale will pursue shared public education materials about efficient water use; Madsen described a CIWW “water usage best practices” committee that will circulate graphics and recommendations to member communities.

Other technical and system work

Weiss said Urbandale completed a system study with Snyder & Associates to update and calibrate the distribution model, to guide capital-improvement prioritization (including replacement of undersized 4-inch mains and proactive hydrant flushing based on modeled water age). He also said the utility conducts annual leak-detection efforts and is replacing larger meters where accuracy may be contributing to apparent losses.

What the council did and next steps

The presentation was informational; no council vote or directive on CIWW agreements, project funding or the ASR project was recorded during the meeting. CIWW staff said the technical committee expected to recommend a design award for the West plant RFQ the following day and the CIWW board would take up that recommendation at its next board meeting. Urbandale staff said ASR design would begin this summer if contracts proceed and that the project will require additional permitting, testing and community outreach during design.

Comments and questions from the council focused on noise mitigation for drilling near a school, permit duration for potential source-water sites (staff said typical water-use permits are reviewed on roughly five-year cycles) and the city’s lead-inventory outreach methods. Utility staff said they would hold public meetings during design and remain in contact with schools and nearby residents.

The presentation materials and detailed RFQ and permitting schedules will be available through staff and CIWW as the projects move forward.