Ankeny maps $70m utility renewal push as Westlawn becomes nine-year focus
City of Ankeny, Iowa · Meeting date: November 2, 2026 · Published: November 3, 2026
Ankeny’s proposed 2027-31 utility capital improvement programme would invest about $70 million across water, wastewater and stormwater assets. The plan combines major growth-related sewer works with a sustained programme to address drainage and utility deficiencies in the Westlawn Place area.
Key points
- The proposed five-year utility CIP totals about $70 million, compared with about $51 million in the prior five-year programme.
- The 2027 utility programme proposes $16.2 million of expenditure: about $6 million for water, $5.2 million for sanitary sewer and $4.8 million for stormwater.
- Westlawn Place utility improvements are programmed at about $5 million annually for the next eight years, following completion of a major detention basin near State Street and the Ankeny Art Center.
- A newly added $2.75 million Saylor Creek force main replacement is proposed after capacity analysis found flows could not be transferred by gravity to the Rock Creek sewer.
- Council also approved construction documentation and bonds for a $225,285 sanitary sewer project at The Reserve at Cherry Glen, while authorising a $151,287 first payment on the $589,527 2026 CIPP lining programme.
Full report
Ankeny is preparing to lift utility capital investment to about $70 million over five years, with a prolonged renewal effort in the Westlawn Place neighbourhood and a newly identified Saylor Creek force main replacement among the principal wastewater priorities.
The proposed 2027-31 utility capital improvement programme, presented to council in a planning session, covers water, sanitary sewer and stormwater infrastructure. It is about $19 million larger than the previous five-year utility CIP, which totalled about $51 million. Proposed expenditure for 2027 is $16.2 million, comprising roughly $6 million for water, $5.2 million for sewer and $4.8 million for stormwater.
Westlawn Place is the largest recurring element. The city expects to invest about $5 million annually, including the current year, to complete 16 phases of water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and related improvements over roughly nine years. Staff said the programme responds in part to issues exposed during the 2018 flooding. Phase 1, including a major detention basin along State Street north of the Ankeny Art Center, is substantially complete, although surface restoration and punch-list work remain.
The next phases, 2A and 2B, are scheduled for 2027. The city has structured the works in smaller phases to preserve neighbourhood access during construction. Staff said the delivery sequence could be adjusted as work progresses, including potentially pausing or combining phases.
A significant new sanitary sewer item is a $2.75 million Saylor Creek force main replacement and lift-station improvement programme, proposed for design in 2028. A capacity review determined that flows from the Saylor Creek lift station could not be redirected by gravity to the Rock Creek sewer without potentially overburdening that system. The replacement is intended to address a force main that has previously experienced breaks; the associated lift-station work would add variable-frequency drives.
Other proposed sewer works include the Deer Creek sanitary trunk sewer extension, a development-related Trestle Ridge trunk sewer cost-share project, and a $120,000 Urbandale sewer repair. Staff said the latter will correct a 40% sag in a bored PVC sewer section.
The stormwater programme includes continued Westlawn work, flood repairs following July 2026 flooding, and a series of channel and drainage projects. These include Southeast Third collection improvements, Diamond Hills Greenway and Four Mile Creek channel stabilisation, Saylor Creek Tributary channel improvements, a Southeast Four Mile Drive culvert repair with Polk County, and Southwest Linden storm sewer improvements. The proposed programme peaks in 2029 as several larger stormwater projects move into construction.
For water, the principal investment is Elevated Storage Tank No. 4, a two-year construction project already under way near the High Trestle Trail. Other planned work includes a Northwest Irvinedale-Northwest 36th Street water-main loop, South Ankeny Boulevard water-main relocation, and repainting of the Urbandale elevated storage tank after Elevated Storage Tank No. 4 enters service. The city also plans rehabilitation of ASR No. 2, its aquifer storage and recovery well.
The planning session did not constitute CIP adoption. Separately, however, council approved all consent-agenda items, including plans, contracts and bonds for construction of sanitary sewer at The Reserve at Cherry Glen. The private construction contract between Spring Lake Construction and Iron Antler Development is valued at $225,285, with work required to begin by November 15, 2026 and finish by July 1, 2027.
Council also approved a $151,287 payment to SAK Construction for the first completed work on the $589,527 2026 CIPP lining project. The payment covers 3,622 ft of 8-inch lining, 772 ft of 12-inch lining and reconnection of 70 building sanitary sewer services.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council Regular Meeting, City of Ankeny