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Updated 2026-10-15
County water report

Polk County Water Quality: 8 Cities Ranked by the Records

Polk County, Iowa: 8 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my systemOpen on the mapPrivate wells in Polk County
Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

LithiumDetected in 8 systems10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPAHighest380 µg/L
Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 1 system of 8 tested15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest5.6 µg/L
29 PFAS tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 8 systems: ALTOONA WATER SUPPLY, ANKENY, CITY OF, CLIVE WATER DEPARTMENT, DES MOINES WATER WORKS, GRIMES WATER SUPPLY, JOHNSTON MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY, URBANDALE WATER UTILITY, WEST DES MOINES WATER WORKS

  • 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
  • 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
  • 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
  • Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
  • N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
  • N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
  • Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
  • Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
  • Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
  • Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
  • Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
  • Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
  • Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
  • Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
  • Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
  • Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
  • Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
  • Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
  • Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
  • Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
  • Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
  • Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
  • Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
  • Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
  • Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
  • Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)
8 cities

Cities ranked by the records

Showing 6 of 8 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Polk CountyPFAS detected in 0 of 8 cities; none had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit
4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in Iowa
Lead

0of 8 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in Iowa
Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

  1. Des MoinesDES MOINES WATER WORKS · IA7727031
    246,055 served
  2. AnkenyANKENY, CITY OF · IA7709053
    76,207 served
  3. West Des MoinesWEST DES MOINES WATER WORKS · IA7785007
    73,959 served
  4. UrbandaleURBANDALE WATER UTILITY · IA7780042
    45,605 served
  5. JohnstonJOHNSTON MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY · IA7740011
    24,897 served
  6. AltoonaALTOONA WATER SUPPLY · IA7707030
    22,436 served
  7. CliveCLIVE WATER DEPARTMENT · IA7720051
    20,277 served
  8. GrimesGRIMES WATER SUPPLY · IA7736011
    17,997 served
Questions

Frequently asked

How does Polk County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 8 cities in Polk County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Ankeny's main water system: ANKENY, CITY OF · PWSID IA7709053 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Polk County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

None of the 8 Polk County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 0.

Is there lead in Polk County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 1 of 8 Polk County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

Have Polk County water systems had drinking-water violations?

1 city in Polk County has a health-based violation in the federal SDWIS record within about the last ten years. Each city report lists the contaminant, year and whether it was resolved.

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