Inside Iowa Politics: New way to make sure your neighborhood has enough drinking water?

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray TV Iowa State Capitol Bureau) – Droughts, chemical runoff, changing weather patterns and population growth have triggered a growing warning to Iowa residents, political leaders and community developers about the importance of reliable access to clean, plentiful drinking water. A new central Iowa entity could provide a framework for other communities in the state for a regional commitment.

A newly formed entity called Central Iowa Water Works unites a dozen water providers. CIWW will serve as a regional utility for water production and expects to provide water for nearly 600,000 residents.

Last month, CIWW chose retired attorney and energy consultant William Smith to serve as its interim executive director. Read the announcement here.

CIWW will assume ownership of the current water treatment and supply systems in the region (most were operated by Des Moines Water Works). The local water entities would continue to be responsible for billing and customer service.

Follow the timeframe and evolution of Central Iowa Water Works here.

Here are the dozen local providers that joined Central Iowa Water Works:

Here is the message that Polk City posted on its website for residents as CIWW formed:

“Polk City has been purchasing water from Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) since 2003. Polk City can produce some of our own water, and we are currently producing about 40% of the water we sell to our residents and purchasing the other 60% of water from DMWW. Unfortunately, as Polk City’s demand for water continues to increase, the percentage that the city can produce continues to decrease. The city produces water at a lower cost compared to what we purchase water for with DMWW. The 40% & 60% ratio was consistent up until a few years ago. In the past few years, the city has had a number of events, where our ability to produce water was either lower, or unavailable, and we have had to fully rely on purchasing water from DMWW.”

Water shortages have not been as severe in Iowa as they have been in western states like California. However, Clarke County has suffered after several years of drought. Area leaders had to resort to asking residents to drink bottled water as they searched for a long-term solution to the challenge.

The CIWW framework is unique to Iowa in the way it has united numerous local governing authorities into a regional water body, which could give it a more centralized focus as it determines how to meet the needs of future generations, how to minimize nitrates in the water system and how to work with federal elected officials and agencies as it seeks future funding.

About the author: Midwest native Dave Price is Gray Television’s Iowa Political Director for 10 stations that broadcast in the state and has been covering local, state and national politics from Iowa since 2001.

He has written two books about the Iowa Caucuses (“Caucus Chaos” and “Caucus Chaos Trump”). Email him at dave.price@gray.tv. Follow him on X (Twitter): @idaveprice Meta/Facebook: DavePriceNews Instagram: idaveprice and LinkedIn: Dave Price.

Dave welcomes your thoughts on what answers to seek from politicians and what issues challenge our communities.

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