Creek flood water arrives fast and leaves quickly, but the moisture it leaves in walls and floors stays.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Walnut Creek flood water is runoff from a creek that drains part of Polk and Dallas counties. Its floods tend to come in short, high peaks. Cleanup means removing standing water, opening wet materials and drying the structure until readings show it is dry. Ankeny Water Damage Restoration connects Ankeny callers with a local crew for this work.
Walnut Creek is a tributary of the Raccoon River, and it runs through Polk and Dallas counties. Polk County is where Ankeny is. A 1979 environmental report described the creek's flooding as recurring, with high peaks that pass quickly, and the largest flood on record at the Walnut Creek gauge at Des Moines was in 1986. A creek like this is quick to rise and quick to drop, which is exactly what makes it dangerous to a basement that has been left open.
The water from a creek peak does not stay in the creek. It crosses low ground, fills drainage paths and finds the lowest openings on a building, which are often a walkout door, a window well, a floor drain or a basement stair. By the time the water has dropped back into its channel, the building may have taken on several inches of water and the moisture has moved into the walls and under the floor.
If creek water has entered your home, call (833) 490-5225 as soon as it is safe to do so. The line is answered at any hour for water damage. Before you call, keep people out of the water, leave the breaker alone if the panel is wet, and photograph the water line. A local crew can then start the work that cannot wait, which is removing the water and getting air moving through the wet structure.
Creek water leaves moisture in wall cavities, insulation and wood framing, and that moisture stays long after the surface is dry. The damage builds slowly, with swelling, staining and odor showing up days or weeks later. A measured drying stage is what stops that process.
Water that rose quickly often covers only the lower part of a wall, but capillary action draws it up behind the finish. Paper facing on drywall, fiberglass insulation and the bottom plates of a wall all hold water and release it slowly. A room can look dry and still have wet material sitting inside its walls.
The crew does not rely on appearance. Readings are taken at the floor, at the baseboard and higher on the wall. If the reading is still high above the floor, the drywall comes out and the framing is measured directly. That is the only reliable way to know when the basement is ready for rebuilding.
The depth of water, how long it stood, the type of finish on the walls and floors, and what was stored in the lower level all change the scope of work. Each factor is checked on site and explained before the next stage starts. No price is set here, because the size of the job is measured in the building.
Depth is the first factor. Water that reached only a few inches up the wall produces a smaller wet zone than water that stood higher. The height of the waterline on the wall is an early clue about how far the moisture has traveled, and the crew uses it to decide where to open the wall.
Finishes matter as much as depth. Carpet over pad holds water and must come out. Solid wood floors can cup and may need to be lifted. Tile and concrete dry faster but can trap moisture beneath them. Stored items, such as furniture, boxes and appliances, add to the list, and some can be cleaned while others cannot be saved.
Pumping is a step in the cleanup, but timing and rate matter. Pumping too fast after a creek flood can put pressure on soaked foundation walls, so crews balance the pump rate against the ground outside. Water is removed in a way that keeps the walls and the discharge path safe.
Soil outside the foundation can stay saturated for some time after the creek has dropped. If the basement is pumped down quickly while the ground is still heavy with water, the difference in pressure across the wall can cause problems. Measured pumping protects the walls and keeps the work safe for the crew.
Discharge matters as well. Water pumped onto a lawn can flow back toward the foundation, and water pumped toward a neighbor can create a new complaint. The crew explains the discharge route before the pump starts, so the water is not simply moved from one problem to another.
Look for a wet line on the walls, silt on the floor and drains, soft or swollen baseboards and a musty smell. Check the window wells, the walkout door and the sump pit. If any of these are present, a moisture check is worth doing, because the visible signs often understate what is inside the wall.
Start with the outside. Look at where the water flowed toward the house, which window wells filled and where silt was left. Then go inside, starting at the lowest point and working up. A flashlight held low against the wall can show a stain or a bloom of white mineral deposit that marks the waterline.
If you are not sure whether the wall is still wet, do not guess. Ask the crew to take a reading. A reading is quick, does not require anything to be opened, and gives a number that can be compared on a return visit. It is a simpler decision than deciding by feel.
Photograph the outside of the house showing where the water came in, the water line on each wall, the damaged finish and each item removed. Take wide and close pictures, with a note of the date and time. These records help the claim, and an insurer generally asks for them.
Photographs made before anything is moved are the most useful. Take a wide shot of each room from the same corner, then close pictures of the waterline and the damage. Include the window well, the walkout door and the drain in the record, because they show the route the water took.
Keep a written list of what was removed and why. Note the make of appliances and the age of finishes if you know them. Insurers and adjusters ask about these details, and an accurate list kept as the work happens is easier to check than one written from memory later.
Do not enter a flooded basement until the power has been shut off at the panel or the water has been confirmed clear of live circuits. Do not use an extension cord or a portable pump in standing water. Creek water can carry silt, debris and chemicals from the surface, so wear boots and gloves if you must walk through it, and wash your hands before you eat. If the water in the drain or the lower level smells of sewage, leave the area and call for help.
The first task is to confirm that the electrical equipment in the wet area is safe to use or is shut off. The crew also finds where the water came in, because a walkout door, window well or drain gives a clue about where moisture went. Knowing the entry point tells the crew which walls to check first.
Standing water is pumped or vacuumed out of the basement and the lower floor. Creek water usually drains faster than river water does, but the basement floor and low corners still hold water after the main flow has passed. Removal is recorded with the depth and the rooms affected.
Creek water leaves a fine layer of silt, leaves and small debris on floors and in drains. The crew removes it while the material is still damp. Dried silt is hard to clean and can keep moisture against the floor for longer than a wet surface would.
Where the moisture meter shows the wall is wet above the floor, the drywall is cut and removed to the height of the wet zone. The studs, sill plate and bottom of the insulation are checked. This is the step that can find water the floor never showed.
Air movers and dehumidifiers are set up and run until the readings on the framing and the subfloor reach a dry level. Each visit adds a reading to the log, and the equipment comes out when the log shows the structure is dry.
A walkout door set low in a sloped yard is a common path for creek water. The water pools at the threshold and spreads across the floor. The moisture usually goes into the lowest wall plates and the bottom of the cabinets first, so those are the places to check.
A window well that fills with runoff can overflow into the basement at the window opening. The damage is often concentrated in one corner of the room. The crew checks the window frame, the sill and the wall below it, because water can run down inside the wall from there.
When the creek is high and the storm and sewer lines are full, water can come back up through a floor drain. This is handled differently from a surface flood, because the water may carry sewage. If the water in the drain smells of sewage, treat it as contaminated and leave the area until it has been looked at.
A creek that rose and dropped in a few hours may leave only a film of water and some silt. Even then the moisture in the wall and under the floor needs to be measured. A short flood is often the easiest to dry, but it is still a real drying job, and the readings are what show when it is done.
A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and you approve the estimate before any work starts.
Walnut Creek drains part of Polk County, where Ankeny is, and it joins the Raccoon River in the same basin. A creek of this kind rises quickly after heavy rain and passes quickly. That short, sharp rise is what makes creek water a sudden loss for a basement with a low entry, and it is why the first step is to find the route the water took rather than to wait for it to stop.
The creek's record is one of short, high peaks rather than long, slow floods. The 1986 flood is the largest on record at the Walnut Creek gauge at Des Moines. A flood of that kind leaves water in the lower level within hours and leaves moisture in the walls for much longer. Cleanup is planned around the second problem, which is the one people notice last.
Walnut Creek and the Raccoon River are both part of the drainage that runs through Polk County. On a creek call, the crew checks the features that let runoff in at the lowest level, which are walkout doors, window wells and floor drains, before it looks anywhere else.
Water that came in from the Raccoon River basin needs pumping, drying and a clear record for your insurer.
Rain that enters a basement through walls, floor joints or window wells needs fast removal and a measured dry.
When a sump pit overflows or stops, the basement floor takes the water, and the drying starts after the pump is fixed.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run until moisture readings show the walls, floors and framing have dried.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Walnut Creek is a tributary of the Raccoon River that runs through Polk and Dallas counties.
Creek water usually rises and falls faster than river water, and it tends to reach the basement through a low entry such as a walkout door or a window well. The volume is often smaller, but the moisture left in walls and floors is still the main problem. The drying plan looks much the same for both.
Water that wicks into a wall cavity can stay there long after the surface feels dry. The drywall and insulation hold moisture, and the air in a closed wall moves slowly. A moisture reading shows whether the wall is still wet and where the moisture has reached.
A portable dehumidifier can help with ordinary humidity, but it does not replace equipment set for a flood-wet structure. Running equipment on a wet circuit or in standing water is a safety risk. Let the crew set and measure the equipment, and ask how long it will run.
Water that comes up through a floor drain may carry sewage, and that changes how it is handled. Leave the area if the water smells of sewage, and do not run a pump into a drain that is backing up. A technician will check the water and the drain before the cleanup starts.
The crew cuts drywall only where readings show the moisture has wicked into the wall, and the cut is made above the wet zone. You are shown the readings and the cut location before it is made. Materials that cannot be dried are removed, and the crew explains which ones.
Coverage depends on your policy and on the insurer's decision about the specific loss. Standard homeowner policies often treat flood water differently from sudden water sources, which is why a separate flood endorsement is sometimes discussed. Questions about coverage belong to your insurer, and complaints about an Iowa-issued policy can go to the Iowa Insurance Division.
The length depends on the materials, how deep the water went and how much of the structure was wet. The crew sets the length by readings, not by a fixed number of days. Equipment is removed once the readings show the structure has reached a dry level, and that point is recorded.