The Raccoon River is a tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States . It flows for much of its length as three streams and when measured using the longest of its three forks , its length increases to . The river runs through an intensely cultivated area of croplands mostly of corn and soy and livestock farming , where slow-draining rich natural bottomlands have been tiled to drain them for agricultural cultivation . The north and south forks join in Dallas County just west of Van Meter , and the Raccoon River flows generally eastward into Polk County , past Walnut Woods State Park and West Des Moines . It joins the Des Moines River just south of downtown Des Moines and is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River . Both the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers have been providing drinking water for the Des Moines metropolitan area through water utilities since the 19th century . During the Great Flood of 1993 , the Raccoon River flooded the water treatment facility of Des Moines , shutting off the city 's drinking water supply
Great Flood of 1993
Great Flood of 1993
Raccoon River