Des Moines is Iowa's largest city, but with a population of only 203,000, it deserves its reputation as a quiet, prosperous community. In recent decades, however, Des Moines has been tested severely by two major flood events. The "Great Flood of 1993" was the most devastating flood in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Iowa Flood of 2008 was so devastating that it caused about $64 billion in damage and is referred to as, 'Iowa's Katrina.'
So Des Moines' sewer system deals with occasional intense flooding and high groundwater,
