Des Moines Water Works history

Roughly 99 million acres are under a drainage district with nearly 60 percent of it organized before 1920.

In 1923, an attorney prepared a bill for the legislature to abolish the City Councils supervision of the DMWW Board.

Seven thousand plantings of trees and shrubs were made yearly from seedlings grown in the greenhouse under the care of Arie den Boer (he joined DMWW in 1928), who also introduced several hundred varieties of crabapple trees and won many awards for his work in horticulture.

In 1929, construction of the Hazen water tower on Hickman began.

In 1931, scientists started realizing the benefit fluoride plays in preventing tooth decay.

In 1932, during the Depression, Denman provided work to many men who could not pay their water bills.

In 1933, during the Depression, Denman provided work to many men who could not pay their water bills.

In 1942, DMWW paid $400,000 for 650 acres of farmland southwest of Des Moines to build a reservoir to use during emergencies.

From 1948-49, the softening plant was built, called the filter building which housed the laboratory and the water rate increased for the first time in 50 years.

An election in 1950 authorized forming a three-member Board of Trustees to provide oversight and direction to the utility.

In 1953, West Des Moines constructed a water treatment plant.

1955 The Little Man with the Long Shadow, The Life and Times of Frederick M. Hubbell, by George S. Mills.

In 1957, Iowa Light and Power installed a substation at DMWW and electric motors and pumps began to be used ending steam power.

In 1959, DMWW started fluoridating its water at the request of the city council.

In 1961, the crabapple orchard was named the Arie den Boer Arboretum (Den Boer retired that year).

In 1958, eight more filters and two more softening basins were added to the filter plant. It was decided a dam would be constructed at Saylorville, Iowa but groundbreaking took until 1965.

Hubbell and Polk bought most of Allen’s assets with Hubbell buying Terrace Hill (which remained in the Hubbell family until it was given to the state in 1971). Augustus Denman became the general manager.

In 1972, DMWW installed water meter reading equipment on the outside of homes.

In 1973, this standpipe, near Sears at Merle Hay Mall, was named Tenny standpipe.

In 1985, an office building was built.

In 1992, the eight tanks of a nitrate removal facility were built.

In 1993, the Raccoon River crested at a record 14.7 feet above flood stage, forcing the Fleur Drive treatment plant to be shut down and residents were without any water service for 11 days, and non-potable water for 18 days.

In 1994, the offices were remodeled after the flood.

In 1998, ground was broken for a new treatment plant, called the Maffitt Treatment Plant.

In May of 2000, the Water Treatment Plant at Maffitt Lake, a 25 mgd facility, began operation using five radial collector wells for its main water source, but also drawing from Maffitt Reservoir for additional water resources.

In August 2003, a monthly pump record was set at 2,262.82 million gallons.

In June 2006, a daily pumpage record of 90.19 mg was set.

In 2007, the Board of Water Works Trustees renamed the Maffitt Treatment Plant to the L.D. McMullen Water Treatment Plant.

In June 2008, another flood occurred.

In April 2011, the Saylorville Water Treatment Plant began operating, serving customers north of Des Moines.

In July 2012, a new monthly pumpage record was set at 2,544.12 million gallons and a new record for daily pumpage at million gallons.

Even the Iowa Soybean Association has conceded, that more ways to finance the 2013 Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy plan (cutting the nitrogen and phosphorus by 45 percent) need to be found in light of the problem in the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.

In July, the water utility reported that it spent more than $1.5 million since December 2014 to remove nitrates from the drinking water it supplies to 500,000 customers.

In March 2015, the DMWW board voted to sue Calhoun, Buena Vista and Sac county for high nitrate discharges into the Raccoon River, and their failure to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit or state permit in violation of the Clean Water Act.