During the Midwest floods of 1993, White Star Textile Services in Des Moines, Iowa, found itself faced with an ironic situation. The encroaching floodwaters had shut down all six pumps at the local water plant, and there wasn’t even enough water to flush toilets, let alone process 100,000 pounds of laundry each week. The situation was expected to continue for some time. White Star implemented a plan to truck laundry to two sister plants in other towns, but that wasn’t sufficient. The company desperately needed water.

White Star employees rose to the challenge. A maintenance worker who lived on a farm on high ground had a well and allowed the company to draw 2,000 gallons of water to keep the boiler running. Other employees worked overtime to keep up with the demand. Others kept track of which roads were open or closed and helped expedite customer deliveries. Despite being without water for more than a month, White Star never missed a single day of customer service.

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