During the Great Flood of 1993 , heavy rains throughout June and early July caused the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to rise above flood-stage levels . The Des Moines Water Works was submerged by flood waters during the early morning hours of July 11 , 1993 , leaving an estimated 250,000 people without running water for 12 days and without drinking water for 20 days . Des Moines suffered major flooding again in June 2008 with a major levee breach . The Des Moines river is controlled upstream by Saylorville Reservoir . In both 1993 and 2008 , the flooding river overtopped the reservoir spillway
Great Flood of 1993
Great Flood of 1993
Des Moines, Iowa