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CLARINDA WATER PLANT vs DES MOINES WATER WORKS

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). CLARINDA WATER PLANT has 0 open health-based violations and 87 PFAS records. DES MOINES WATER WORKS has 0 open health-based violations and 348 PFAS records.

CLARINDA WATER PLANT

Iowa · IA7329029

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

87

PFAS records

DES MOINES WATER WORKS

Iowa · IA7727031

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

348

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricCLARINDA WATER PLANTDES MOINES WATER WORKS
StateIowaIowa
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served4,372246,055
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations03
PFAS Records87348
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeSurface waterSurface water
City ServedClarinda

Key Differences

CLARINDA WATER PLANT has 87 PFAS records vs. 348 for DES MOINES WATER WORKS.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — CLARINDA WATER PLANT or DES MOINES WATER WORKS?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

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