The latest forecast of the Des Moines River at SE 6th Street (the closest gauge to downtown) shows that the river has had its first crest and is beginning to fall slowly. This will be short-lived as by late Wednesday, Saylorville Reservoir upstream is expected to go over the Emergency Spillway which will lead to a rapid rise in the river from the “res” downstream to the Raccoon River confluence near Principal Park. This secondary Crest will be about a foot to foot and a half higher than the first one. Major flooding will take place all along the river in the Des Moines area. A good thing is that Des Moines has a lot of levees in place after the 1993 disaster which helped keep much of the city dry during the 2008 floods. This will be at least 4 feet under the 2008 mark.