by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch
June 25, 2025
A long-awaited scientific report commissioned by Polk County says farm pollution threatens the ability to drink clean water and to safely interact with central Iowa streams, Iowa Capital Dispatch has learned.
The county announced its Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment in 2023 and heralded it as a first-of-its-kind, unbiased and comprehensive examination of the watersheds that feed the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which converge near downtown Des Moines.
The topic is acutely important: Central Iowa Water Works recently banned lawn watering — for the first time ever — to prevent nitrate concentrations in its treated drinking water from exceeding a federal health limit.
