drinking water

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.

Iowa’s cities have scored a decisive victory in a long-running legal battle between urban and rural interests over the delivery of water to undeveloped areas of the state.

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 Iowa DNR plans to test the water at more than 50 locations across the state for the substances known as forever chemicals. The class of compounds collectively called PFAS has been linked to an increased risk for a number of health concerns, including certain cancers, developmental and fertility issues, as well as kidney and liver complications.

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.

University of Iowa researchers have found unsafe levels of lead in the drinking water of some Iowa schools, but it’s unclear how deep this problem goes.

On this 'Newsbuzz' edition of River to River, host Ben Kieffer gets a look at the guidelines just released by state education officials for school…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing some major changes to a longstanding rule that regulates lead in drinking water.The EPA said its…

Sioux City has been working to get its drinking water back to compliance after violating a drinking water standard for disinfection byproducts.Water…