Water that came in from the Raccoon River basin needs pumping, drying and a clear record for your insurer.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Raccoon River flood damage is water that rose through a home or building during a river flood in the Raccoon River basin. It needs standing water removed first, then the structure dried and documented. Ankeny Water Damage Restoration connects Ankeny and Polk County callers with a local crew around the clock.
The Raccoon River runs through west-central Iowa, and its floods have reached well beyond its banks. The Great Flood of 1993 was a regional event that cut the drinking water supply for Des Moines when the river flooded the city's water treatment facility. Floods in the basin in 1986 and 1990 were also large enough to be remembered by name. Ankeny sits in Polk County, the county that holds the city of Des Moines, which the river flooded in 1993. A river flood is a real possibility for homes in this part of the metro even when the water never reaches the front door.
River flood water is not the same as a leak. It arrives slowly on a rising river, sits in low rooms for hours or days, and often carries silt, debris, fuel and whatever the ground held. It can soak into the framing of a basement wall and sit there, out of sight, long after the floor looks dry. The longer it stays, the more of the finish, insulation and subfloor has to come out.
If river water has reached your home, call (833) 490-5225 before you start pulling carpet or pumping by yourself. Callers are answered at any hour for water damage, and the first questions are about safety, the power and the source. A local crew can then be sent to start the work that cannot wait, which is removing standing water and getting air moving through the wet structure.
Keep people out of the water, turn off the power to the wet area if you can reach the breaker without standing in water, and call for help. Do not run a wet vacuum or pump in a room with live power. Move valuables up, and take photographs of the water line and the damage before you start removing anything.
The order matters more than most people expect. The first hour is about safety and about the record, not about the mess. Standing water in a room with power is a shock risk, and any electrical equipment that has been submerged should be checked before it is used again.
Photographs are the second priority. Take wide pictures of each room, close pictures of the water line on the walls and the damage on the floor, and a note of the time. Your insurer will ask for these, and an accurate record made on the day is worth far more than a reconstructed one made weeks later.
Moisture left in walls, insulation and subfloors keeps spreading and feeding mold and rot. Silt holds water against surfaces and hides it. Drying the visible floor does not finish the job, because the wet material behind the finish is the part that keeps the structure damp.
Water moves upward through building materials by capillary action. A drywall panel that looks dry on the surface can be soaked a foot or more above the bottom edge. Cavities that are closed off hold that moisture, and warm, still air keeps it there.
This is why the crew opens the wall, measures the framing and checks the subfloor before deciding what can stay. Drying is finished when measurements show the structure is dry, not when the room smells better or the floor no longer feels damp.
The depth and length of the water, the type of floor and wall finish, the age of the building, what was stored in the wet area and whether the water carried sewage all change the scope. Each of these is checked on site and explained before the work that follows it begins.
Depth matters because it sets how far up the wall the moisture has traveled. A few inches of water on a concrete floor is one kind of job. Water that stood a foot or more up the wall is another, because the wet zone is larger and more finish has to come out.
Duration matters too. Water that sat for a long time soaks deeper into wood and insulation, and silt that has dried in place has to be removed mechanically. Finishes such as laminate, carpet over pad, paneling and tile each behave differently, and the crew adjusts the plan to each. Contents and whether they can be saved also change the work. None of these are priced here with a number, because the size of each job is measured on site.
Often yes, once the power is confirmed safe and the water is confirmed to be clean enough to handle. Pumping is the first step in a river flood. The crew checks the water before pumping and makes sure the discharge will not flow back into the home or onto a neighbor's property.
Pumping a basement too fast can put pressure on foundation walls that have been soaked. Experienced crews balance the pump rate against the ground outside and the condition of the walls, and they stop if the walls show signs of movement.
Discharge location matters. Water pumped out onto the lawn may simply flow back toward the foundation, and water pumped toward a storm inlet or a neighbor's yard can create a new complaint. The crew explains where the water is going before the pump starts.
A structure is dry when moisture readings on the framing, subfloor and remaining materials reach a dry level set at the start of the job and recorded on the reading log. Dry-looking surfaces are not enough on their own. A dry reading in a few spots, taken on several visits, is what shows the drying is finished.
The crew takes a baseline reading at the start, then repeats the readings at each visit. Equipment comes out of a room once the readings show it is no longer drawing moisture from the structure. That point is different for each house and each wall.
Before rebuilding starts, it is worth asking the crew to show the final readings. Rebuilding over damp framing traps moisture inside new drywall and paint, and the problem shows up later as staining, odor or mold.
Do not walk into standing water in a room where the power may still be on, and do not run pumps, fans or dehumidifiers on a circuit that has been wet. Do not touch electrical outlets, panels or appliances that have been in water. If the water smells of sewage or has oil on it, leave the area and wear gloves and boots if you must pass through it. Do not remove drywall or insulation yourself before photographs are taken, because the damage pattern is part of the record your insurer will ask for.
Before anyone walks into a flooded room, the power to the affected area should be shut off at the breaker panel, if it can be reached without standing in water. If the panel is wet or in the flood zone, leave it to the utility or an electrician. The first call should confirm that people are clear of the water.
Pumps and wet-vacuums remove the water that is still on the floor. Removal comes before drying because the water in the room is adding moisture to every surface it touches. The crew records the water level and the rooms affected so the record matches what the insurer will ask about later.
Mud, silt and debris are taken off the floors and the lower walls while they are still wet. Silt dries hard and holds moisture, so waiting makes the cleanup slower and more damaging to finishes. Items that were in the water are sorted into keep, clean and discard piles, with photographs taken before anything leaves the house.
Drywall, insulation and the bottom of wall cavities are opened where moisture readings show the water has wicked upward. A flood cut is a clean horizontal line above the wet zone, which lets air reach the studs and lets the crew see what is inside. Materials that cannot be dried are removed and bagged.
Air movers and dehumidifiers are set in the rooms and run until moisture readings on the framing, subfloor and the remaining drywall come down to a dry level. Readings are taken on each visit and recorded, so the drying stage ends on measurements rather than on how the room looks.
When river water comes up through the ground or over a low spot and enters a lower level, the damage often starts at the foundation wall and works up. The crew checks the wall first, then the floor drain, the sump, the stairs and the mechanical room. Floors are usually the easiest part to dry. The wall cavity behind the finish is the part people miss.
A rising river can push water back through floor drains and sewer connections when the outflow is under pressure. That water can carry sewage, so it is handled differently from clean river water. If you smell sewage, or see it in the drain, leave the room and treat the water as contaminated until a technician has looked at it.
Water above the basement reaches flooring, cabinets, doors and the bottom plates of walls. Hardwood and laminate can cup or swell within a short time, and cabinet bases can wick water for days. The work is the same in principle, with more of the finished house involved and a larger list of items to photograph.
Some river events leave only a shallow layer of water that drains within a day. Even then, the moisture in the walls and under the flooring has to be measured. A shallow event can still need a full drying stage, and the reading record is what shows the job is finished.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent raccoon river flood damage, send the form and we'll call you back.
Ankeny sits in Polk County, and Walnut Creek and the Raccoon River both drain land in Polk County. The 1993 flood on the Raccoon River reached as far as the Des Moines water treatment facility, a reminder that a river event in this part of Iowa can be large enough to affect whole communities and not just the homes near the bank.
The Raccoon River floods that matter for this area are the regional ones. The 1986 flood is the largest on record at several gauges in the basin, and the 1990 flood was also a major event. These are the floods that set the benchmark for what a river can do in the metro, and they are why a river flood gets a full drying and documentation plan rather than a quick mop-up.
Water does not have to come from the river itself to reach a house. Surface water that crosses a yard or follows a drainage path can enter a home at a low point, such as a walkout door, a window well or a floor drain. The crew checks the grading and the drainage around the home as part of the first visit.
Creek flood water arrives fast and leaves quickly, but the moisture it leaves in walls and floors stays.
Standing water is pumped or extracted first, in a way that protects the walls and the people in the building.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run until moisture readings show the walls, floors and framing have dried.
Photos, moisture logs and a written scope are kept on every visit, so the insurer and the crew see the same facts.
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After Raccoon River flooding, the first steps are to keep people out of the water, make the power safe, photograph the damage and get standing water removed before drying begins.
No. River water can carry silt, debris, fuel and sometimes sewage, and it arrives over a longer period. It usually needs more cleaning and more drying than a clean supply leak. The safety steps are also different, because the water may be deep or moving and may hide electrical hazards.
Call as soon as you know water has entered the home, even if the water has already gone down. Standing moisture and silt start to damage finishes quickly, and an early call usually means fewer materials have to come out. The water damage line is answered at any hour.
Only where moisture readings show the water has wicked into the wall cavity, and only after you have been shown where and why. A flood cut is made high enough above the wet zone to let air reach the framing. Materials that cannot be dried are removed, and the crew explains which ones and why.
Not until the crew has sorted it. Some items can be cleaned and dried, and some cannot be saved once they have sat in silt or sewage. Photograph each item before it leaves the house, and keep a list. Your insurer may ask to see what was removed and why.
Not every flood needs mold testing, but moisture that stays in walls for a long time can lead to mold growth. The best protection is a fast, measured drying stage and a clean structure before rebuilding. Any mold found after drying is treated on its own terms, which is covered on the mold page.
The cost depends on your policy and on the insurer's decision about what the policy covers. The water damage crew explains the work and the record it keeps. Questions about coverage are for your insurer, and if you think a claim was handled unfairly, the Iowa Insurance Division takes complaints about policies issued in Iowa.
In many cases yes, if the wet area is closed off and the power and air are handled safely. Equipment is loud and warm, and the crew will tell you which rooms need to stay closed. If the water affected the main living area or the kitchen, you may need to plan for a few rooms to be out of use.