Des Moines Flooding History and Flood Risk by Area
By the Des Moines Water Damage team · September 9, 2026
Des Moines sits at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, a location with a well-documented flood history — most notably the 1993 Midwest floods, which knocked out the city's water treatment plant for nearly two weeks. Flood risk today varies significantly by neighborhood and suburb, generally rising the closer a property sits to a river or major creek corridor.
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A Brief Flood History
The Great Flood of 1993 remains the most significant flood event in the metro's modern history, affecting much of the Midwest along the Mississippi and Missouri River basins. In Des Moines, the flooding overwhelmed the city's water treatment plant at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, leaving much of the metro without safe drinking water for close to two weeks. The region also saw significant flooding in 2008 as part of a broader wave of Midwest flooding that year.
These events led to substantial investment in flood control infrastructure across the metro, including levee systems and the Saylorville Lake reservoir north of Des Moines on the Des Moines River, which helps regulate downstream flow during heavy rain.
Which Areas Carry Higher Risk Today
Flood control infrastructure has reduced risk significantly since 1993, but risk isn't eliminated, and it isn't evenly distributed across the metro:
- River-corridor neighborhoods in Des Moines and Pleasant Hill near the Des Moines River see the most direct flood exposure during major regional rain events.
- Creek-adjacent suburbs like parts of Clive (Walnut Creek), Urbandale (Walnut Creek), and Altoona (Yeader Creek) can see localized flooding and drainage issues during heavy rain, separate from river flooding.
- Newer suburbs further from waterways — much of Ankeny, Waukee, and Norwalk — see comparatively lower flood risk from rivers and creeks, though sump pump failures and heavy-rain groundwater seepage still cause basement flooding regardless of location.
What This Means Practically
Whether or not you're in a mapped flood zone, every home in the metro can experience water damage from sources unrelated to river flooding — burst pipes, sump pump failures, roof leaks, and appliance failures happen everywhere. If you are in a higher flood-risk area, it's worth checking whether your homeowners policy includes flood coverage, since standard policies typically don't (see our insurance guide).