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Polk County (including SE Polk)

Des Moines Water Works has been pleased to provide meter reading, billing, payment processing and general customer service to Polk County residents on since 1987. Des Moines Water Works also maintains Polk County’s water distribution system and provides Field Service.

If you have questions regarding your water service, water quality, billing statement, payment options, or any other water-related questions, we encourage you to contact Des Moines Water Works in one of the following ways:

By Phone: (515) 283-8700
In Person: 2201 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines
Office Hours: 8:00 am-4:30 pm, Monday-Friday
customerservice@dmww.com
Polk County


Services Billed
Polk County residents including SE Polk are billed for the following services on their DMWW billing statement:

Service Details
Water


Water availability fee and consumption measured in Cubic Feet by water meter. Water charges are calculated based on daily usage. See tables below.
Sewer

Sewer charges are calculated based on consumption measured on the water meter.
Polk County Special Sewer Rate $7.08 per 1,000 gallons ($52.96 per 1,000 cubic feet)
Polk County Sewer Availability $4.00 per month
Outside City of Des Moines
Sewer Rate
$15.88 per 1,000 gallons ($118.79 per 1,000 cubic feet)

Recycling Polk Co. Curb-it is billed where applicable.
Polk County Curb-It $5.32 per month
Polk County Capital
Improvement Fee
See charge below for Capital Improvement Fees by Step.


Capital Improvement Fee
Effective April 1, 2015, all customers served by Polk County water system started being charged a Capital Improvement Fee.  This fee is necessary to improve the aged water system in this service area and allow for system expansion.

Water Availability Fee
The water availability fee is added to every bill along with a water consumption charge. The availability fee varies depending on the meter size in the home or business. The vast majority of Polk Couny households are equipped with 5/8 inch meters. Below is a list of meter sizes along with the respective availability fee.

5/8" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 3" 4" 6" 8" 10"
$7.00 $8.00 $9.00 $15.00 $23.00 $46.00 $75.00 $75.00 $75.00 $75.00


Water Consumption Rates
Polk County Rate Schedule has three steps. Most residential customers use amounts of water that fall in the Step 1 rate amounts. Commercial businesses that use more water generally fall in Step 2 and Industrial accounts often use enough water to fall into Step 3.

While your DMWW billing statement shows your water consumption in Cubic Feet instead of gallons, we hope you will find the conversions in the chart below to be helpful:

Average Daily Usage - Polk County

Step Cubic Feet (cf) Gallons Water Rate/
Capital Improvement
in Cubic Feet (cf)
Water Rate/
Capital Improvement
in Gallons

Step 1

0-668.40 cf 0-5,000
gallons
$83.18/$11.22
per 1,000 cf
$11.12/1.50
per 1,000 gallons

Step 2

668.41-2,005.20 cf 5,001-15,000
gallons
$50.87/$6.88
per 1,000 cf
$6.80/$0.92
per 1,000 gallons

Step 3

2,005.21 or more cf 15,001 or more gallons $39.72/$5.31
per 1,000 cf
$5.31/$0.71
per 1,000 gallons

Deposit
Customers who are tenants of a property will be charged a $110 deposit equal to the usual cost of 90 days of water service based on an average household consumption of 7,500 gallons per thirty day period. This deposit will be added to the customer's account and will be reflected on the customer's first statement. Deposits are subject to Des Moines Water Works' collection rules, and as such, service may be terminated for non-payment of a deposit. The deposit will be applied to the balance of the account at the date of final service. Any amounts remaining after application of the deposit to the final balance will be refunded to the customer within a reasonable period of time after the customer's final- service date.

Termination and Restoration Fees
A $70.00 fee will be charged to all accounts when water service is terminated for non-payment. An additional $35.00 fee will be charged when the customer requests their water be restored outside of the field service hours listed below:

Normal Field Service Hours:
Monday-Friday 7:30 am-6:00 pm
Saturday 7:30 am-3:30 pm

Penalties and Fees

Penalty or Fee Details
Delayed Payment Fee




5% of the unpaid portion of all services on the current month's bill. When the delayed payment fee is charged, it will appear on your statement as "Account Delayed Payment Fee."

Damaged Water Meter Fee Varies depending on size of meter and replacement cost.
Unauthorized Unmetered Use of Water
$250.00 - $500.00

Unauthorized Use of Hydrant $570.00 - $1,700.00


Irrigation Meters
Secondary or Irrigation meters measure water that does not enter the sanitary sewer system. The property owner does not have to pay sewer charges on water that is used outside for such purposes as irrigation or pool filling purposes.

Polk County maintains a program for acquiring a secondary meter. A form for installation of a secondary meter can be obtained at:

Polk County Planning and Development – Utilities Division:
5885 N.E. 14th St.
Des Moines, IA

All plumbing work must be done by a licensed plumbing contractor. The secondary meter must be a Neptune/Schlumberger meter with an Encoded Register.

After the plumber has installed the secondary meter, contact Des Moines Water Works at (515) 283-8700 to have the meter reading device connected.

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