Des Moines Water Works
Des Moines and the Greater Des Moines metropolitan area
Population reference
Approximately 600,000 people in the Greater Des Moines area; the utility independently operates the regional drinking-water system while local communities retain their own customer-service and billing relationships.
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly. DMWW rules state that meters are read periodically and water bills are mailed or delivered electronically monthly; the customer statement generally provides a due date 25 days after the bill is generated.
- Rate structure
- Increasing-block residential usage tiers plus a fixed monthly availability charge, with separate service-area schedules for Des Moines inside-city, Des Moines outside-city, Polk County, and other contracted communities. A capital-improvement charge may apply to qualifying service areas, and irrigation use is billed under a separate higher schedule. The Board approved a 2026 rate increase; the current bill and board rate schedule control the exact tier dollar amounts.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- Sanitary sewer charges are normally computed from the water consumption recorded by DMWW, plus a fixed sewer customer-service charge set by the applicable city. The City of Des Moines’ July 2025–June 2026 schedule identifies a sewer consumption charge of $9.84 per 1,000 gallons and a $4.40 monthly sewer customer-service charge; irrigation-meter water is not charged sewer for outside use. Charges for customers outside Des Moines can follow the applicable contracted municipality’s schedule, and some outside-city rules authorize higher sewer rates.
- Meter reading
- DMWW reads meters monthly for billing, with most residential and commercial meters read through remote equipment installed outside the building. The online MyMeter platform exposes usage history, trend comparisons, and alerts. If a meter cannot be read or the remote device has a wiring or equipment problem, DMWW may issue an estimated bill based on typical usage and later correct it when an actual reading is available.
- New-account deposit
- Residential tenants are charged a deposit equal to the usual cost of 90 days of service using an average household consumption of 7,500 gallons per 30-day period. DMWW’s published Schedule of Charges lists a $110 tenant deposit effective January 1, 2024; the deposit is added to the first statement, may be applied to the final account balance, and any remainder is refunded after final service. Owners or customers with different account classifications may have different requirements.
- Activation or transfer fee
- The reviewed current schedule does not state a universal residential activation or name-transfer fee. Applications can be made by phone or electronic form; unpaid balances at a prior location must be paid or arranged before service can start in the customer’s name. Customers should confirm premise-specific connection, stop-box, inspection, and transfer charges with DMWW before requesting service.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
86%
overview fields with research notes
Iowa
37%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
6 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
86%
Details not confirmed in the reviewed public material
- Residential cost reference
“Not confirmed” means the directory did not identify a dependable public statement. It does not mean the provider has no policy or option.
Primary verification routes
- Des Moines Water Works public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.