Outdoor burning rules in West Des Moines, IA — also called the burn ban, open burning, or fire restriction ordinance — set when you can burn yard waste, debris, or run a recreational fire.
Polk County requires a permit for open burning. State rule bars open burning of combustibles except listed exemptions; the county issues permits for disaster rubbish, tree trimmings, landscape waste, bonfires, right-of-way and prairie burns. No burning when the AQI is 90 or above.
Iowa's 567 IAC 23.2(1) prohibits open burning of combustible materials except for stated exemptions. Polk County is one of only two Iowa counties (with Linn) that requires a burn permit, administered by Public Works under the Local Board of Health Rules Chapter V-Air Pollution. Permits may be issued for disaster rubbish, tree and tree trimmings, landscape waste (clearing and grubbing), training fires, bonfires, right-of-way cleanup, and prairie maintenance. Burning landscape waste from an industrial or commercial source, or a dwelling of two or more units, is unlawful. Apply online at the OpenGov portal.
Open burning without a required permit, or when AQI is 90+, violates the county air-pollution rules; unlawful burning of combustibles is enforceable under Iowa Code 455B.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Polk County allows backyard composting but regulates it through the Health Nuisance Regulation: a compost pile that harbors vermin, produces offensive odors,...
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Polk County has no ordinance for or against artificial turf on residential lots. Installation on unincorporated land is generally unrestricted; cities and HO...
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Polk County has no ordinance banning native or prairie landscaping, and the county promotes native roadside vegetation. The one legal limit: your planting ca...
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Iowa has no state ban on collecting rainwater, and Polk County sets no rain-barrel ordinance. Residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or cisterns; only ...
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Polk County sets no lawn-watering schedule. Central Iowa's water is managed by Central Iowa Water Works / Des Moines Water Works, which can impose voluntary ...
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Iowa Code 317.10 requires every landowner to destroy all noxious weeds on their land as directed by the county board of supervisors. Polk County's Weed Commi...
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in this county.
See how West Des Moines's outdoor burning rules stack up against other locations.
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