Wet, Smelly in Des Moines // Sewage Hits 1,000 Homes

DES MOINES Flooding misery revisited Iowa's capital Monday as1,000 homeowners - many of them miles from swollen rivers - foughtwith a sticky, smelly backup from overloaded sewers.

And officials again had to use boats to reach a water treatmentplant ringed by floodwaters. Heavy weekend rains pounded largesections of Iowa and parts of eight other states in the Midwest,which has endured floods throughout the summer.

In Des Moines, ground saturated with rain was unable to absorbany more, and water was making its way into the city's overloadedsewer system. Pressure on that system, in turn, was forcing sewercontents into homes.

The result was a smelly mess, …