Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Quality topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Des Moines Water Works warns of sustained high nitrates, outlines revised regional water-use plan
Summary
Des Moines Water Works leaders told the City Council that unusually high nitrate concentrations in source waters have forced near-continuous use of an expensive nitrate-removal system and that a new Central Iowa Water Works 'water use plan' doubles down on conservation and staged messaging while $25 million in state funding is targeted to expand treatment capacity.
Amy Keeler, CEO and general manager of Des Moines Water Works, told the City Council the utility has been battling elevated source-water nitrate concentrations since January and has been running its nitrate-removal facility about 90% of the year.
"It costs $16,000 a day to run that nitrate removal facility," Keeler said, and she described operational strain: overtime, frequent staffing pressure and limited blending options when multiple source waters exceed the 10 mg/L drinking-water standard. Keeler said finished drinking water has recently been maintained at about 9 mg/L but that long-term averages over the last decade are under 5 mg/L.
Central Iowa Water Works manager Tammy Madison presented a revised water-use plan that adds a year-round conservation focus (Stage 0) and formalizes staged responses for stress: voluntary 25% reductions at Stage 1, stronger outreach and a potential full lawn-watering ban at higher stages. Madison noted last summer's restrictions reduced use by "30 to 40%" when fully applied and emphasized targeted outreach to the region's top irrigation users and uniform public messaging through partners including the state DNR and emergency management.
Madison also described regional supply tools: aquifer storage and recovery wells (ASRs) that are used in peak demand, and surface reservoirs (Maffitt Reservoir, Crystal Lake) that have been drawn down during the period of high nitrate inflow. Keeler said the utility has drawn about 2.5 million gallons per day from Maffitt and has used roughly 42% of available stored depth at that reservoir.
On funding and capacity, Madison confirmed the state legislature awarded $25 million to expand the regional nitrate removal facility and a $3.72 million enhancement for upstream conservation practices and monitoring. She cautioned that the expansion's effectiveness depends on the quality of water entering the facility: "the higher the nitrate concentration, the lower the amount of water that can come out of that facility at a lower nitrate concentration."
Council members pressed staff on monitoring and standards. Keeler said the utility watches USGS and other upstream monitors (the Jefferson monitoring point was cited as an example) and that she reached out to EPA, which last reviewed the nitrate standard in 2024. Council discussion referenced recent cancer-research conversations about lower guideline levels; Keeler noted that utilities are monitoring policy discussion closely and that meeting a lower federal standard would likely require significant capital investment.
The presentations closed with council direction to review local conservation ordinances and to encourage public messaging; staff said Central Iowa Water Works and member agencies will step up outreach, notify regulatory partners sooner during Stage activations and contact major irrigation accounts directly.
