Water challenges met this summer with assistance from central Iowans and regional communities

By Jody Smith, Chairman, Central Iowa Water Works Board of Trustees

With Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) lifting the region’s irrigation ban, I want to thank everyone for taking the necessary steps to manage an unprecedented event. Your sacrifices allowed CIWW to continue providing safe drinking water this summer.

This year’s water quality issues have been referred to as “a perfect storm.” Three of the region’s primary water sources – the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers and the infiltration gallery (underground pipes in Water Works Park that collect and filter groundwater) – simultaneously had historically high nitrate levels entering the Fleur Drive Water Treatment Plant.

When these sources have nitrates above the federal standard of 10 milligrams per liter, treatment becomes incredibly challenging. While we have several tools in our regional water system – including aquifer storage and recovery wells (ASRs), multiple water treatment facilities and a nitrate removal facility at the Fleur Plant – their combined capacity was unable to meet the region’s demand and put our system in danger of violating the nitrate standard.

While the irrigation ban impacted everyone, we are grateful for the partnerships and cooperation of so many stakeholders across our communities. Your collaborative efforts helped us meet consumer demand while keeping nitrate levels below the federal standard.

CIWW also recognizes the enormous efforts of reporters and media outlets that elevated awareness and public understanding of water resources and system planning. The coverage helped reach our consumers and manage this rare event.

Looking ahead, we are building more capacity to treat water and ensure standards are met without aggressive actions to curb supply: Plans to expand existing Saylorville and Grimes water treatment plants are well underway, and three more ASRs are in final construction or design phases.

In addition, engineers are engaged in building another treatment plant in southeast Dallas County. Designing, permitting, bidding and procuring specialized equipment, and construction will take time – though investments in these long-term solutions will further strengthen our regional system.

In the near term, CIWW Trustees will apply what we learned this summer to better manage similar events in the future. We are also working to address specific matters that were too broadly defined in our founding documents. Fortunately, we are able to move forward as an organization committed to solving challenges together.

Under CIWW’s structure, all 12 founding members now have an equal voice in regional decisions about water usage and quality – before, Des Moines Water Works, alone, could have made the decision to issue restrictions. Instead, CIWW members helped review data, analyzed the operational challenges and risks to public health, and collaboratively decided to issue a lawn watering ban to ensure we could continue providing safe drinking water.

When CIWW was established last year, the vision was to prioritize collaboration. Only one year later, we proved that the regional concept and our collective action works – benefiting all stakeholders.

No matter what storms come our way, CIWW will continue working to provide water source and system planning, drinking water treatment and delivery of safe drinking water to over 600,000 central Iowans.

Author Biography

Jody Smith is the Chairman of Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) Board of Trustees, the regional authority responsible for the treatment of drinking water, serving more than 600,000 people living in central Iowa. Smith spent his career in city operations and management, including more than 25 years with the City of West Des Moines.