Health
The Ottumwa Health Department provides a broad range of health and inspections services to Ottumwa and Wapello County. In fact the only public health services we don't provide are nursing and immunizations, which are performed by the Wapello County Public Health Nursing Service. Your City public health department works to minimize or eliminate hazards that threaten the environment in your home, neighborhood and throughout the community.
The Ottumwa Health Department is the place to go for licensing and inspection information for restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, bars and lounges, temporary food stands, mobile pushcarts, vending machines, hotels/motels, tanning facilities, tattoo establishments, public swimming pools and funeral homes that are located within Ottumwa and throughout Wapello County. Environmental Health Specialists provide mosquito and rodent control in Ottumwa and investigate a broad range of complaints from weeds to junk cars and provide inspections and remediation information to families with lead poisoned children. The City Health Department also coordinates Make Ottumwa Shine.
Health Department Building Inspectors provide permitting and inspection services for new construction and rental housing. Building, electrical, plumbing, signs and heating and cooling installation permits are issued by the Health Department. Rental housing is registered and inspected once every three years and presently Ottumwa has approximately 2,400 registered rental units. For a list of registered rental properties click here.
Houses unfit to live in are placarded by the Health Department. The placarded house list is updated monthly. Click here to view. Contact the Health Department for a complete list of placarded house deficiencies. Contact the listed owner for sales information.
The City's residential trash and recycling program is administered by the Health Department. Trash and recycling collection service to single-family dwellings and multi-family dwellings with less than four units is mandatory and is billed monthly on the City water bill. Additionally, Wapello County customers within 2 miles of the city, multi-family dwellings with more than four units and churches may subscribe to the city's collection service.
The Health Department maintains a list of city-owned vacant lots for sale. These are in-fill lots where derelict houses have been removed. Click here for a list of lots for sale. Find a lot you want to purchase? Complete the purchase offer form and mail the form and required deposit to the City Clerk's Office, 105 E. Third, Ottumwa, IA 52501.
Ottumwa has two building/housing inspectors, Marion Husted and Doug Maize. You may contact Marion Husted at (641) 683-0653 or hustedm@ci.ottumwa.ia.us and Doug Maize at (641) 683-0611 or maized@ci.ottumwa.ia.us. For building permit data click here. For state of Iowa electrical licensing forms click here. State of Iowa electrical inspection fees, permits required and other documents.
Other new construction and residential building permit reports/charts.
Annual Construction Permits Charts - Building - Electrical - HVAC - Plumbing
There is one Environmental Health Specialist responsible for performing food and food related inspections in Ottumwa and throughout Wapello County. Tina Vandenberg may be reached at (641) 683-0651 or vandenbergt@ci.ottumwa.ia.us. Tina also performs inspections for tattoo establishments, tanning facilities (new rules) and public swimming pools. Marion Husted and Tina Vandenberg also conduct lead inspections in houses where children have been identified as lead poisoned. For information about any of the programs or inspection services described here you may call or e-mail the appropriate staff member.
There is one Housing and Code Enforcement Inspector responsible for performing nuisance and housing inspections in the City. Phil Northup may be reached at (641) 683-0649 or northupp@ci.ottumwa.ia.us. Phil responds to many nuisance type complaints relating to tall grass and weeds, junk motor vehicles, scattered trash in yards, brush piles and other complaints. You can e-mail a complaint to Phil and include as specific information about the problem as possible. For nuisance reports/chart click here. For jmv reports/chart click here.
Tanning Facility Links for Applications, Rules, Employee Tests.
Tattoo Facility Links for Tattoo Establishment Application, Artist Application, Administrative Code and Rules.
Temporary Food Stand Application
More information about many of the services mentioned is available on this website or you may call the Health Department Monday Friday 7:00 am 5:30 pm at (641) 683-0650 or (641) 683-0610 or e-mail gatesj@ci.ottumwa.ia.us.
Healthcare 411 is a news series produced by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. Using the latest podcasting technology, these weekly audio and video programs feature AHRQ’s latest research findings as news and informational stories on current health care topics.