Weather forecasters say residents along the Des Moines River will be saferand have better warning of potential flooding under “A-HAPS”. That standsfor the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System which has been tested alongthe waterway since March of 1997.Brenda Brock is Meteorologist-in-Charge of the National Weather Serviceoffice in Des Moines. She says the A-HAPS uses a series of automated riverlevel gauges and a computer program to forecast water levels up to 90 daysin the future.Brock says the Des Moines River is the only one in the U-S with this type ofmonitoring system in place. She says the river earned the right to win thedistinction after the floods of 1993.To learn more about A-HAPS or to see current river conditions, go to:www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx and click on the “water” icon.