Stage III Daily Updates
June 18, 2025
June 19, 2025
Raccoon River - 14.4 mg/L Des Moines River - 14.2 mg/L
Fleur Drive Treatment Plant - 8.05 mg/L McMullen Treatment Plant - 8.29 mg/L
Nitrate Concentrations held steady in the Des Moines River but slightly increased in the Raccoon River after last night's rain. We are continuing to monitor upstream conditions.
Drinking water meets all state and federal standards.
June 18, 2025
Splash Pads to reopen June 19 - Check with your community for hours of operation!
Did you know that lawn watering uses upward of 40 million gallons a day in the system, while combined metro-wide, the splash pads and spray grounds are using less than 1 million gallons?
With the Polk County Extreme Temperature Plan being activated, Central Iowa Water Works wants to ensure all members of our community have equitable opportunities to cool off this week. Splash pads and spray grounds will reopen on Thursday, June 19. Check with your local community for hours of operation
The lawn watering ban remains in effect.
June 18, 2025
‼️Some of you have asked, and yes, more water capacity for the region is under way.
🔟Currently, the Saylorville Water Treatment Plant is expanding to add an additional 10 million gallons a day.
💧The Grimes Water Treatment Plant will be expanded, and a new west water treatment plant will be built.
❓What does this mean? Within the next seven years, the capacity of the water system in the metro will increase by 25 percent. These facilities will all use the newest available technology to remove nitrate – but they are also being designed to treat for emerging water quality issues.
📉P.S. Nitrate concentrations in the rivers are slowly trending downward, but we are monitoring what is happening upstream, so the lawn watering ban is still in effect. Drinking water meets all state and federal standards.
Raccoon River: 13.82 mg/L
Des Moines River: 14.89 mg/L
The finished water leaving the Fleur Drive Treatment Plant: 8.05 mg/L
June 18, 2025
👏Together we have continued to produce high quality water that meets all Safe Drinking Water Standards! Thank you for continuing to take steps to reduce your water footprint such as watering 🍅your vegetable garden, 🪷flowerpots, and 💐flowers with a hose or watering can, washing full loads of laundry, and taking shorter 🚿showers!
❓You have questions? We have answers! ⬇️
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June 17, 2025
🌧️Nitrate concentrations remain at high levels and are unpredictable with rain occurring in the watersheds the past 24 hours. As a result of high concentrations – the Des Moines River is at 14.77 mg/L and the Raccoon River is at 15.11 mg/L – the lawn watering ban will remain in effect until nitrate concentrations drop in our rivers.
🗣️Thank you to everyone for doing your part whether it’s turning off your irrigation systems, taking shorter showers, or washing full loads of laundry.
➡️This is a water quality issue. Not a water quantity issue. Source water – mostly in the form of river water – undergoes a multi-step process for treatment to meet drinking water standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nitrate reduction – either through the nitrate removal facility, blending of sources, or use of a treatment plant’s reverse osmosis filters – happens at each of Central Iowa Water Works’ treatment facilities to ensure all finished water meets drinking water standards.
June 16, 2025
📢Thank you for turning off your irrigation systems and using water wisely to reduce demand on our water treatment facilities. Together we have managed to reduce the system capacity and remain under the safe drinking water standard.
🚨As a result of high nitrate concentrations in the rivers – the Des Moines River is at 15.6 mg/L and the Raccoon River is at 15.3 mg/L – the lawn watering ban will remain in effect. When concentrations are this high, production at treatment facilities is limited. The lawn watering ban will remain in effect until nitrate concentrations drop in our rivers. Daily updates are available on Central Iowa Water Works Facebook and LinkedIn pages: Central Iowa Water Works.
June 15, 2025
📢Thank you for your efforts to reduce outdoor water use. By continuing current water conservation efforts through the mandatory lawn watering ban, CIWW is confident that we can continue to produce water without potentially violating the EPA standard. However, until nitrate concentrations in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers drop, production capacity will remain reduced, and the lawn watering ban will need to remain in place.
🌧️These are our two watersheds. The local rain last night and early this morning can help reduce nitrate concentrations in our rivers locally because it dilutes water in the rivers; however, we will be watching what happens upstream. Rain in the watershed sends nitrate into waterways when it flows through farm field drainage tiles and runs off soil.
June 14, 2025 and June 13, 2025
💧Thank you for turning off your irrigation systems. Because of you, we saw a reduction today in demand on our water treatment facilities. We were able to continue producing water for our community that meets the safe drinking water standard.
➡️This is not a lawn watering issue, nor is it a water availability issue. It is a source water quality issue. Our treatment facilities are overwhelmed with near-historic nitrate concentrations from both the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers.
‼️High nitrate concentrations entering our facilities require advanced treatment technology. As nitrate concentrations rise, the output of treated water slows down. Curtailing lawn watering is the quickest way, and the last mechanism we have, to ensure that our production facilities can continue to produce water that meets safe drinking water standards. During the growing season, lawn watering is the largest use of our available capacity.
This is only the first day in a multiple day battle that will require us to be vigilant in our efforts to reduce demand on our water treatment facilities. Thank you for every measure you have taken and continue to take to get through this time of near-record nitrate concentrations.
June 12, 2025
CIWW Issues Law Watering Ban Effective Immediately
https://www.ciww.gov/news-1/ciww-issues-lawn-watering-ban-effective-immediately
June 11, 2025
‼️Central Iowa Water Works is now calling for a voluntary minimum 50 percent reduction in all residential and commercial lawn watering to help alleviate water supply challenges caused by high nitrate concentrations in raw source waters.
If customer demand does not immediately decline, lawn watering will be prohibited.
Water production is significantly reduced at the Fleur Drive Treatment Plant because of near record-high nitrate concentrations. We cannot use the Raccoon River as a source for treatment. Our treatment plants and the nitrate removal facility are running at capacity. While all finished water meets regulations for drinking, we are at risk of violating the nitrate standard if customer demand does not decrease.
In addition to reducing lawn watering, all central Iowans are asked to practice wise water use and repair leaking faucets, wash only full loads in the washer and dishwasher, take shorter showers, and hold off on washing cars, playing with water toys or filling swimming pools.
June 10, 2025
🚨Central Iowa Water Works is asking customers to voluntarily reduce lawn watering by 25% to address water issues especially as temperatures are expected to feel much more like summer this week.
‼️Water treatment facilities are working near capacity just to produce basic water essentials, a news release said. Treatment also is challenged due to water supply conditions caused by nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers.
⏰If you normally run your sprinklers for an hour, water for 45 minutes.
2️⃣If you water three days a week, only water one or two.
💧Consider watering only your front lawn.
💦Water in the early morning or late evening.
🚫Do not water your lawn on Mondays.
💧If water is running off the lawn and into the street, the ground is saturated and does not need additional watering.
June 9, 2025
‼️A voluntary 25 percent reduction in residential and commercial lawn watering is still in effect to help alleviate water supply challenges caused by high nitrate concentrations in raw source waters. Thank you for the measures you are taking to ensure the availability of treated water for essential services, such as reducing lawn watering to two days a week, watering only your front yard, and watering early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
For more than 50 days, Central Iowa Water Works has been removing nitrate during the treatment process. Operating the nitrate removal facility at the Fleur Drive Treatment Plant adds an extra step to an already complicated process of producing clean, reliable water to 600,000 central Iowans.
CIWW is asking for this continued reduction to solve today’s complication – nitrate removal – but we’re also planning for the future by expanding and building water treatment facilities that can combat not only nitrate, but other source water quality issues and emerging contaminants.
Thank you to our member agencies and our water professionals who have been tirelessly working to ensure each day we produce water that meets all state and federal standards for drinking.
June 4, 2025
🚨Outdoor water use can account for 30% of a business's total water use. These tips can help reduce outdoor water use while still promoting an attractive storefront!
🧹Sweep instead of hose: Always use a broom to clean walkways, driveways, and entrances rather than hosing off these areas.
💧Deep, infrequent watering: Only water the lawn when necessary. If you water your lawn and flower beds, try watering twice a week instead of three times, if rainfall isn't sufficient. Avoid watering on windy and hot days. Water the lawn and flower beds in the morning or late in the evening to maximize the amount of water which reaches the plant roots (otherwise most of the water will evaporate).
☀️Longer grass: When mowing lawn areas, set the mower blades to 2-3 inches high. Longer grass shades the soil improving moisture retention, has more leaf surface to take in sunlight, allowing it to grow thicker and develop a deeper root system.
🌾Natural vegetation and smaller lawn: Maximize the use of natural vegetation and establish smaller lawns. For portions of your lot where a lawn and landscaping are desired, ask your local nursery for tips about plants with low water demand.
June 2, 2025
💧Every Drop Counts!
‼️Fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills.
🚰Common types of leaks found in the home include worn toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves.
👕The average household's leaks can account for more than 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, or the amount of water needed to wash 270 loads of laundry.
🚫An irrigation system that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.
May 30, 2025
‼️Central Iowans Asked to Reduce Lawn Watering by 25%
🚿If the average sized lawn in the United States is watered for 20 minutes every day for 7 days, it's like running the shower constantly for 4 days or taking more than 800 showers.
🚨That's equivalent to the amount of water needed for the average family to take 1 year's worth of showers.
May 30, 2025
Central Iowans are asked to immediately begin a 25 percent voluntarily reduction in lawn watering.
Water treatment facilities are working near capacity to produce enough water for basic lifeline essentials. Treatment is challenged because of water supply conditions caused by nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers.
All finished water meets state and federal regulations for drinking and all uses.
Central Iowa Water Works offers these tips to reduce lawn watering usage:
If you normally run your sprinklers for an hour, water for 45 minutes.
If you water for three days, only water one or two.
Consider watering only your front lawn.
Water in the early morning or late evening.
Do not water on Monday.