Des Moines Water Works

An estimated 20,000 Iowans are now under voluntary or mandatory water restrictions due to drought conditions. It’s adding more strain on rural utilities that have long struggled to provide safe drinking water because of agricultural pollution.

The Des Moines Water Works is exploring a plan to build a set of alluvial groundwater wells as a way to lessen its reliance on the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which have been polluted with agricultural runoff for years. The $30 million plan would represent a philosophical shift for the utility.

The Lower Missouri and Raccoon Rivers are among the top 10 most endangered in the country this year, according to a national advocacy group. The organization American Rivers is calling for concerted action at all levels of government in order to what it describes as threats to public health and safety and biological diversity.

The state's largest water utility has changed how it staffs its water treatment facility since the beginning of the pandemic. The utility's CEO also says they are working to find a collaborative path forward between legislation and litigation to address water quality issues in central Iowa in 2021.

Local, state and federal officials have formed a working group to address Iowa’s PFAS contamination and any impacts to drinking water. Iowa is one of a…

The Des Moines Water Works is putting pressure on state regulators to clean up contamination at a nearby military base. In letters to the state Department…

The city of Jesup's only grocery store is set to close next month, leaving more than 2,700 people without a primary resource for fresh food in their…

The Mississippi River provides drinking water for millions of people living in cities along the water’s edge. It also carries runoff from Midwestern farms…

For the past five or six years, there’s been a lot of attention surrounding Iowa's water quality. Last year, a federal judge dismissed the Des Moines…

Environmental lawyer Josh Mandelbaum has won a seat on the Des Moines City Council. He won a three-way race with 56-percent of the vote over former Iowa…