Des Moines Water Works: Providing Central Iowa with Safe and Clean Water Since 1919
Be Part of the Next 100 Years
“Excellent speakers with quality information. This will help me be a much better citizen and advocate.”
– Patricia Prijatel, Drake Professor Emerita and health writer; Citizen Water Academy 2018 graduate
Apply
Here
The William G. Stowe Water Academy is a free, five-session crash course about the history, use and management of water in central Iowa and the Des Moines and Raccoon River Watersheds. The mission of the Academy is to create a network of emerging leaders who are knowledgeable and engaged in water issues.
Des Moines
Water Works
Des Moines Water Works is an anchor institution, providing the water necessary each day for central Iowan’s daily lives. As the region’s ninth-oldest business and Iowa’s largest water utility, DMWW is recognized as an industry leader. Among the 100 largest utilities in the United States, our mission is to protect public health by leading and advocating for central Iowans to have improved source water quality and delivering Water You Can Trust For Life.
About the Academy
Ever a creative thinker, in 2017 the late William (Bill) G. Stowe, then-CEO and General Manager of Des Moines Water Works, returned from the West Coast with an idea gleaned from attending a water conference: engage, excite, and educate customers about their drinking water utility by launching a “citizen water academy."
While the challenges for Des Moines water are different than those of western United States, Bill recognized Central Iowa also has a need to better educate and engage the public that depends on us for safe and abundant drinking water.
The William G. Stowe Water Academy of Central Iowa is designed to help current and emerging leaders in our community learn and appreciate our most important natural resource - the water we depend on for life.
Bill was actively involved in curating the curriculum of the Water Academy, inviting and meeting with local and national experts in the areas of water management, conservation, and policy. Attendees receive 20 hours of instruction, tour multiple treatment plants operated by Des Moines Water Works, listen to presentations from soil and water professionals, and interact with Des Moines Water Works staff over the four sessions of this program. It was Bill's hope and the Academy's goal that participants not only have a better understanding of their local water utility but are also equipped to help lead the discussion on important water issues now and in the future.
