(Radio Iowa) – Due to high nitrate levels from farm chemical runoff, the utility that supplies water to 600-thousand residential and commercial customers in the Des Moines area is imposing an immediate ban on watering lawns. Tami Madsen, executive director of Central Iowa Water Works, says nitrate levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, which supply the system, are the highest they’ve been since 2013. Madsen says, “We have ample source water but the source water is so high in nitrate that it’s difficult for the plant to treat it at the same rate that customers are demanding it on the other side.”

Water leaving the treatment plant is currently around nine parts per million. If it rises above the safety standard of 10 parts per million, pregnant women and children will be advised not to drink the water. “Right now, your water is safe to drink,’ Madsen says. “There are no concerns. Continue to drink your water. Just don’t put drinking water on your lawn. It doesn’t need drinking water.”

Repeated violators of the watering ban will face having their water shut off.