USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 05485500

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	00060 Discharge(Mean)

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Water year 2023: 2022-10-01 to 2023-09-30

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USGS Water-Year Summary 2023

05485500 Des Moines River below Raccoon River at Des Moines, IA

LOCATION - Lat 41°34'42.9", long 93°36'20.2" referenced to North American Datum of 1983, in SW 1/4 SW 1/4 NE 1/4 sec.10, T.78 N., R.24 W., Polk County, IA, Hydrologic Unit 07100008, on left bank 40 ft downstream from bridge on Southeast 6th Street in Des Moines, 0.4 mi downstream from Raccoon River and Scott Street Dam, and 201.0 mi upstream from mouth.

DRAINAGE AREA - 9,879 mi².

REVISIONS HISTORY - WSP 1438: Drainage area. WSP 1508: 1943(P). WDR US-2007: Location.

SURFACE-WATER RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - Discharge records from April 1940 to current year.

GAGE - Water-stage recorder. Datum of gage is 762.32 ft above North American Vertical Datum of 1988. Prior to October 1, 1951, water-stage recorder upstream from Scott Street Dam (0.4 mi upstream from current site) at datum 11.16 ft higher; October 1, 1951, to September 30, 1953, water-stage recorder at Southeast 14th Street (0.5 mi downstream from current site) at current datum; October 1, 1953, to September 30, 1959, water-stage recorder upstream from Scott Street Dam at datum 11.16 ft higher; October 1, 1959, to September 30, 1961, non-recording gage at current site and datum; October 1, 1961, to April 24, 1997, water-stage recorder at Southeast 14th Street at current datum.

COOPERATION - Average monthly pumpage from galleries provided by Des Moines Water Works.

REMARKS - Accuracy of records is discussed in the annual Station Analysis archived at the USGS IA Water Science Center. Des Moines municipal water supply is taken from infiltration galleries on Raccoon River, 3.5 mi upstream from station. At times, water is pumped from Raccoon River into recharge basins or into Des Moines Water Works reservoir, capacity 4,800 acre-ft. Effluent from sewage treatment plant enters the river 2.3 mi downstream from station. Net effect of diversions not known. Flow regulated by Saylorville Lake (station 05481630), 12.7 mi upstream, since April 12, 1977.

EXTREMES OUTSIDE PERIOD OF RECORD - Flood of May 31, 1903, reached a stage of 20.9 ft, from flood profile, at Scott Street site and datum, from the office of the Des Moines City Engineer.

EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD - Maximum discharges, 116,000 ft³/s, July 11, 1993, gage height 34.29 ft, at Southeast 14th Street site at current datum; 104,000 ft³/s, June 13, 2008, gage height 35.55 ft, at current site and datum; minimum daily discharge, 26 ft³/s, January 16-29, 1977.

WATER-QUALITY RECORDS

PERIOD OF RECORD - Water years 1945-1947, 2008, 2009-2010, 2012.

PERIOD OF DAILY RECORD -
WATER TEMPERATURE: Daily instantaneous values collected in conjunction with suspended-sediment samples, October 1944 to September 1945, records fragmentary.
SUSPENDED-SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION AND DISCHARGE: October 1944 to September 1947.