Unusually high rain totals push Des Moines to prep for flooding
Rising water levels and saturated soil have prompted Des Moines officials to implement flood prevention protocols as storms are forecasted to hit the area Tuesday.
“When you’ve got saturated soils up in the watershed, like we see now, large dumps of rain will much more quickly run off into the rivers and will arrive here a lot faster, meaning we need to react, be able to react faster,” Des Moines Public Works director Jonathan Gano said.
The city has begun moving water downstream ahead of the rainfall to prevent levees from overflowing. Several stormwater pump stations have already been activated to manage excess water runoff.
“We’ve got several stormwater pump stations turned on right now,” Gano said.
Flood prevention has been a central focus for city leaders over the past decade, with hundreds of millions of dollars invested in flood control infrastructure and storm sewer upgrades following severe floods in years like 1993 and 2018.
“Just in the last 10 years, we’ve put several hundred millions of dollars into flood control infrastructure and storm sewer upgrades,” Gano said.
Despite these measures, officials say Des Moines’ resilience to flooding will depend on the intensity and location of the approaching storm. Predicting which areas will be hit hardest remains a challenge.
“We cannot predict where that rainfall will land,” Gano said. “Most of the city is perfectly resilient for most storms most of the time, but there will always be pockets of intense downpours that will overwhelm storm systems.”
Residents living in flood-prone areas are especially urged to stay vigilant during this storm.
“It’s usually not a surprise to the property owner unless they’ve just moved in,” Gano said. “This might be one of the events where it’s more likely to happen.”
City officials continue monitoring the forecast and adjusting measures to prevent flooding in vulnerable areas. Residents are encouraged to prepare and remain alert as the storms approach.