The Clark County Regional Flood Control District (CCRFCD) was created in 1985 by the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislatur ...

allowing Clark County to provide broad solutions to flooding problems. The District has developed plans and so far successfully continued working on a 50-year program to eliminate most flooding from a

100-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...

in the populated areas for which the CCRFCD is responsible.

History

Voters in 1986 approved a quarter cent sales tax to fund construction of regional flood control facilities. The first project began in 1988. As of June 2013, a total of $1.7 bill was spent on flood control, including construction of 90 detention basins and approximately 581 miles of channels and underground storm drains. To date, 51 square miles have been removed from federally identified FEMA flood zones, saving residents millions of dollars per year in flood insurance premiums. The Regional Flood Control District is more than 75 percent complete with the Master Plan. Another 31 detention basins are planned, along with 226 miles of conveyance. Th
District's website
provides citizens information about the District and the progress of flood control in Clark County. The site also gives current rainfall information on approximately 189 locations throughout the county. The District produces a 30-minute television news program six times per year that updates the community about the progress of flood control and provides information about flash flood safety. The program airs about 40 times per month on Cox Cable channels 2 and 4, as well as on stations in Laughlin and Mesquite.

District direction for providing protection

Since Las Vegas is located in a basin with a single outlet, the

Las Vegas Wash Las Vegas Wash is a 12-mile-long channel (an "arroyo" or "wash") which feeds most of the Las Vegas Valley's excess water into Lake Mead. The wash is sometimes called an ''urban river'', and it exists in its present capacity because of an urban po ...

, all rain

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

drains to the east side of the basin where it will eventually be deposited into

Lake Mead Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. L ...

Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

fall in the surrounding mountain ranges, can cause flooding in the area as water flows off the mountains onto the valley floor. The area is also subject to localized weather events. It is possible for an area to receive heavy rainfall in a short time, while nearby areas as close as one or two miles (3 km) away receive little or no rain
Additional history
about past flood events is available as well as som

The increase of

hardscape Hardscape refers to hard landscape materials in the built environment structures that are incorporated into a landscape. This can include paved areas, driveways, retaining walls, sleeper walls, stairs, walkways, and any other landscaping mad ...

as the valley has developed has contributed to an increase of runoff over time. To help alleviate the damage caused by flooding, the Clark County Regional Flood Control District has spent millions of dollars to build

detention basin A detention basin or retarding basin is an excavated area installed on, or adjacent to, tributaries of rivers, streams, lakes or bays to protect against flooding and, in some cases, downstream erosion by storing water for a limited period of time. ...

s and concrete drainage channels throughout the area. The belief is that these structures will control the flow of water when there is storm runoff and reduce flooding in areas below the basins and near the channels and washes. The detention basins operated by the district vary in size from and are up to deep. Given the topography of the area, some areas may not be fixable. One example being the Flamingo Wash where the channel overflows into the Imperial Palace parking garage during flash flooding events.

How growth has affected plans and development

With the rapid growth occurring in the valley, the plan and finances have not been able to keep up. As a result, developers are deciding to build in areas not yet protected by

s or other control measures. This is causing many new home buyers to deal with damage or severe runoff on local streets which are used as flood channels when other facilities are not available.

How weather creates problems

Heavy

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

can cause localized

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...

ing. A

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

hit the northwest part of the city of Las Vegas for two hours in August 2003, causing some

hail Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

damage and considerable water damage. Heavy localized flooding occurred, with property damage reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In February 2005, the southwest part of the Vegas Valley was hard hit by flooding from the mountain rainfall runoff. Higher than average precipitation that same winter was responsible for significant damage in Mesquite and Overton which, as of that point in time, had not received much attention since their populations were so much smaller than the Las Vegas valley area.

Event detection and notification

In addition to building and maintaining flood control projects, the District also operates a Flood Threat Recognition System of ALERT rain and stream gage, with the cooperation of the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

and the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

. This system collects hydrometeorological data primarily for the purpose of detecting situations which could cause flooding.

Major facilities

Detention basins

*Angel Park Detention Basin *Anthem Detention Basin *Black Mountain Detention Basin *Caballo Basin *Horse Diamond Basin *Cheyenne Peaking Basin *Confluence Detention Basin *Desert Inn Detention Basin *East C-1 Detention Basin *Equestrian Detention Basin *Fort Apache Detention Basin *Gowan Central Detention Basin *Gowan South Detention Basin *Indian Springs Detention Basin *Kyle Canyon Detention Basin *The Lakes Detention Basin *Lone Mountain Detention Basin *Lower Blue Diamond Detention Basin *Lower Duck Creek Detention Basin *McCullough Hills Detention Basin *Meadows Detention Basin *Mission Hills Detention Basin *Oakey Detention Basin *Pioneer Detention Basin *Pittman East Detention Basin *Pittman Park Detention Basin *Red Rock Detention Basin *R-4 Detention Basin *Tropicana Wash Detention Basin *Upper Flamingo Detention Basin *Van Buskirk Detention Basin *Vandenberg Detention Basin *Veterans Detention Basin *Windmill Wash Detention Basin *Upper Duck Creek Detention Basin

Flood channels

*Beltway Channel *Duck Creek Wash *Flamingo Wash *Halfway Wash *Las Vegas Wash *Naples Channel *Pittman Wash *Sloan Channel *Tropicana Wash

References

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External links

Clark County Regional Flood Control District website
1985 establishments in Nevada Government agencies established in 1985 Government of Clark County, Nevada Las Vegas Valley