Iowa City, IA Landscaping Rules: Water Restrictions (2026)

Iowa City owns and operates its public water utility through the Water Division within the Department of Public Works, with treatment at the Iowa City Water Plant at 80 Stephen Atkins Drive. The system draws from multiple sources — the Iowa River as surface water, plus alluvial and Silurian aquifer wells — and serves roughly 75,000 residents within city limits. Iowa City does not maintain a standing odd/even or day-of-week lawn-watering ordinance, and Iowa state law does not impose a statewide outdoor-water-use schedule. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources monitors statewide drought conditions through the U.S. Drought Monitor and coordinates response under Iowa Code Chapter 455B (jurisdiction of DNR). The 2025 Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) mandatory lawn-watering ban — enacted June 13, 2025 due to nitrate concentrations in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers — covers Des Moines Water Works and its member cities (Ankeny, Clive, Grimes, Johnston, Norwalk, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, Xenia Rural Water, Warren Rural Water) but does NOT include Iowa City, which is on a separate water system. Iowa City's local conservation framework is largely voluntary and education-based, channeled through the Water Division's conservation programs and the City's Climate Action Plan. Backflow protection — required for cities over 15,000 population under Iowa Administrative Code 641-25.5 — is administered through Iowa City's Backflow Prevention Program by Building Inspection Services.