DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines Water Works is the metro area's primary water supplier, with around 600,000 customers.
The discovery of hazardous waste was made years ago, but the issue recently became more serious, prompting multiple agencies in Iowa to take action.
"DNR determined that there was ground water contamination south of Water Works Park several years ago," said Ted Corrigan, CEO of Des Moines Water Works. "So we've been aware for some time that they've been trying to understand the scope, the scale."
The name Lot 46 might not sound familiar. From afar, it's just a large industrial area in Des Moines, but the lot is actually a TCE-contaminated groundwater site.
Iowa DNR discovered the contaminated site while doing routine work in the early 2000s. Investigations led by the DNR began in 2004, and the site was later referred to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 for federal assistance.
After noticing that the hazardous waste was migrating, the issue became more pressing.
Iowa DNR worked to establish the extent and nature of the groundwater contamination from 2007 to 2019, explaining why it took so long for these concerns to reemerge.
"[A] unique aspect of this site I guess is that its proximity to the Des Moines Water Works intake gallery fo their source water, for their drinking water plant," said Mike Sullivan, section supervisor at Iowa DNR.
The EPA has made a plan to propose the site to the National Priorities List later this year.
Local officials say that listing the site on the NPL will support long-term cleanup efforts and prevent exposure to site contamination.
Part of the EPA's process is also finding the "potentially responsible parties" that are liable for cleanup.
Des Moines Water Works wants residents to know that currently, drinking water is completely safe and meets the standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Association.
This plan of action is intended to ensure protection of human health and make sure that the water isn't ever impacted by those toxic chemicals.
"Obviously with the site being in proximity to Des Moines Water Works Park, we want it to be cleaned up," Corrigan said. "And so we're very interested in the EPA coming here and starting the process."