Iowa Learning Farms’ next webinar features Ted Corrigan, chief executive officer and general manager, Des Moines Water Works (DMWW). Corrigan has extensive leadership experience in the fields of water quality, engineering and water distribution, is a civil engineering graduate from Iowa State University, a licensed professional engineer, and holds Grade 4 Operator Certifications in Water Distribution and Water Treatment.

Corrigan will discuss the unique situation of DMWW, the largest drinking water utility in Iowa, which relies primarily on the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers for source water and serves some 500,000 Iowans with clean drinking water. He will cover the pressure on water utilities to comply with regulatory requirements while facing increasing nitrate concentrations and the presence of toxic microcystin from harmful algal blooms. He will also highlight the collaboration on water quality initiatives to address reductions in pollutants by groups throughout the state.

Corrigan noted that DMWW cannot “engineer its way” out of the challenges it faces from nutrient pollution by continuing to build bigger and more expensive treatment facilities.  “Protecting source water from nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia and manure—stopping contaminants in the first place before they enter waterways—is the key to ensuring safe drinking water to the Metro region,” he concluded.

~carrie