Metro Waste Authority is considering building its own treatment plant at Metro Park East landfill to clean up the dirty water that drains through trash.

Why it matters: The agency spends about $1 million a year hauling and paying others to process landfill water, one of its highest operational costs.

The big picture: Landfills across the country are grappling with the same issue.

• The water — called leachate — can pick up cancer-causing chemicals and other pollutants before it's collected and sent away for treatment.
• It is increasingly being scrutinized by regulators to prevent it from contaminating drinking water sources, with places like Lyon County, Minnesota, and Hurley, New York, studying or testing cleanup solutions.

State of play: Treatment plants in Perry and Boone recently declined to accept the water, Metro Waste Authority CEO Michael McCoy told the Des Moines City Council earlier this month.

• That's increasing the agency's reliance on other outlets, including the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority, he said.

Catch up quick: The authority, which provides services to more than 110,000 homes, also operates the Metro Park West landfill near Perry.

• Some of the contaminated water is reused inside the landfill to help break down trash, while the rest is hauled to treatment plants.

The intrigue: A Mitchellville water treatment plant could also potentially handle some industrial liquid waste, McCoy tells Axios.

• That could include byproducts from businesses such as manufacturers or car washes, as well as other liquids that cannot legally be buried in a landfill unless they are solidified.

Reality check: The project remains conceptual.

• MWA has not started design work and does not yet have a cost estimate or overall scope of the project, chief operating officer Leslie Irlbeck tells Axios.
• McCoy estimated the project could be five to seven years away.

What we're watching: Whether operational savings would be sufficient to offset costs and avoid future user-fee increases.

The Clive City Council is considering an ordinance on e-bikes and e-motos tonight.

Why it matters: Clive's popular Green Belt Trail draws outdoor enthusiasts, but the city is grappling with how to handle the rise in kids riding e-motos — high-powered electric motorcycles that resemble lower-speed e-bikes.

State of play: Clive's ordinance would enforce a 20-mph speed limit on the city's trails and prohibit the use of e-motos on them and on sidewalks.

• Other electric vehicles like e-scooters and e-skateboards would have to use a trail or bike lane if it's present, instead of the road.
• It would also prohibit skateboards, scooters and other non-bike devices on roads with speed limits above 25 mph.

Zoom in: Violating the ordinance could incur a $25 fine.

• Enforcement would start in 2027.

The big picture: Des Moines metro cities are wrestling with how to navigate the rise in kids' use of high-speed bikes and scooters without restricting cyclists.

• Ankeny passed an ordinance establishing a 20-mph speed limit.
• Waukee is workshopping its ordinance, following criticisms in the cycling community that its initial proposal was too restrictive.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the ordinance would require electric vehicles like e-scooters and e-skateboards to use bike lanes or trails if available, instead of the road.

"I continue to be extremely disappointed by Dallas County. ... They like to brag about us being the fastest-growing county ... but I want to see more contribution from them in helping us to be that fastest-growing county."

During a West Des Moines City Council meeting this month, Mayor Russ Trimble said that the Dallas County Supervisors have not paid their fair share toward the region's economic development.

Flashback: In 2019, Trimble says he asked Dallas County Supervisors for funding assistance to construct the MidAmerican RecPlex.

• To get a $1 million state grant for the project, Trimble says the city needed to show broad regional support for the RecPlex. He says he asked the supervisors to provide $1 million in support for the $60 million project, but they declined.
• Later, the supervisors committed $50,000, but when the city received only $500,000 from the state grant, Dallas County supervisors reduced their support to $25,000.
• Meanwhile, Trimble says West Des Moines city staff had raised $15 million for the project.

What they're saying: Dallas County Supervisor Chair Julia Helm says she wasn't on the board in 2019, but she says the supervisors approved providing $100,000 in 2025 to support expanding the RecPlex.

What's next: Dallas County's Board of Supervisors expands from three to five members this November — additions, Trimble says, he hopes will be good partners.

🏋️ Highland Park Fitness and Powerhouse Nutrition have opened, completing the redevelopment of the Klein Building in Des Moines. (Business Record)

🚲 Marshalltown RAGBRAI vendors may have to pay extra fees to the city, according to an ordinance considered by the council. (KCCI)

⛽️ Year-round access to E-15 passed the U.S. House and now goes to the Senate for further consideration. (Reuters)

🩺 Des Moines University is launching a podiatric medicine program in partnership with the University of New England. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

We recently asked readers to show us how their free Des Moines "Tiny Trees" are faring — roughly a decade after the city launched the program.

👋 Say hello to "Stick," a redbud tree that Dena Bennett's family received in 2020.

What they're saying: "As you can see by Stick's journey, it really is true that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today," Bennett tells Axios.

State of play: The Tiny Tree Giveaway Program is now closed for the season.

Yes, but: Low-cost options are still available through the Iowa DNR until Tuesday.

Our thought bubble: Now is a good time to start planning for next year's crop of free sticks.