I would have thought after the flood in 1997 that they would have taken action on this. Everyday you read or hear about how bad the drought is. I would think that if there is that much worry about it they would have measures in place to capture and store every drop they can of water that is not lost to evaporation. Every year you have floods in the Midwest and in California. I am sure that there is the engineering skill out there to take the pressure off the areas that are flooding and funnel that water to a storage area. This is the 2nd year I have heard of flood water in Las Vegas. Get a hint, find a way to direct it to Lake Mead. I have no sympathy for them if they complain " Lake Mead is so low we have no water. Well you have all that money down there use it to save the flood waters that are runing down you streets or stop complaining about I have no water and pound sand. This goes for the Reno area too! As to what is proposed, it will take years before they decide to do it or worse yet a high loss of property and life. You know I am right. End of Rant
Susan VoylesRENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL1/28/2005 10:35 pm
David B. Parker/David B. Parker January 1997: A youngster makes his way across First Street in Reno. A regional flood plan has been in place since 2003.
Pressure is building for Washoe County to take emergency measures to control potential flooding in the Truckee River before a massive flood control project is expected to begin in 2007.
“What kind of things can we do to prevent water from coming downtown, including Reno City Hall? Water ran right down First Street,” said Harry York, Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce executive director, of the last great flood of 1997.
On behalf of the chamber and the Downtown Improvement Association, York is preparing letters to Reno and Washoe County officials, urging them to take interim actions to control flooding and move quicker on getting the $300 million “living river” flood control project built.
At minimum, York said work should begin to protect the Reno/Tahoe International Airport from flooding.
“What could we do in spending $1 million to prevent $50 million in damage?” he said. The $300 million flood control project would take at least four years to build after construction begins in 2007, assuming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves a project in 2006.
“It has been eight years and we still don’t have any plan in place or funded,” said Darryl Drake, a commercial real estate broker. He said that makes it harder to sell real estate downtown. “And in the short-term, it would be nice to assure property owners contingency plans are in place.”
Reno, Sparks and Washoe County elected officials will consider local flood control efforts at a joint meeting Monday.
In January, the county commission agreed the cities should have a role as junior partners in the flood control project. A formal agreement is being drafted.
In December, city officials said they were worried too little has been done to control flooding and asked for a list of options.
Earlier this week, county flood control manager Paul Urban told county commissioners any work in the Truckee would damage the river environment and its wildlife.
He said that would lead to further erosion, dredging and steeper riverbanks. He added it also would take years to obtain permits.
While there was cleanup and damage control work after the 1997 flood, no pro-active work has been done in the immediate Reno-Sparks area to add capacity to the river.
However, Sparks officials are beginning to take some measures. City flood control manager Shawn Gooch said the city intends to skim some of the rocks and mud from gravel bars in the river within a next few months without digging into the river.
And the city recently approved a study to consider relocating the North Truckee Drain to help ease future flooding in east Sparks.
But some residents looking up at the snow-covered mountains surrounding Reno and Sparks are anxious.
From Squaw Valley, near Lake Tahoe down to the Truckee Meadows, the watershed is covered with thick snow and ice. Weather officials say a heavy warm rain could create some flooding even though the mountain reservoirs have plenty of storage room, unlike the situation during the 1997 flood.
“I’m really frightened,” said Monica Chatelle, a disabled senior citizen who lives off Toll Road in the Steamboat Hills area. Steamboat Creek and the Chandler Ditch meet near her mobile home.
Chatelle said she was flooded two years ago and in 1997, and she can no longer get insurance. She’d like some help with sandbags now, fearing a flood would come “all of a sudden.”
“It’s like I’m in a war zone,” she said.
Aaron Kenneston, Washoe County emergency operations manager, said he would have someone check on Chatelle’s situation.
Jill Berryman said the Riverside Lofts building in downtown Reno would have to close up for the next flood, wrapped in floodwalls, sand bags and plastic sheeting.
Berryman is the executive director of Sierra Nevada Arts Foundation, a co-owner of the building, is anxious to see the flood project get going. “They have been talking about it since we have been working on the building,” she said.
Delta Fire Systems, which is located in the Spice Islands area of Sparks, suffered about $100,000 in damages during the 1997 flood. Since then, computers are now kept higher off the floor, said branch manager Chad Cooley. He threw away sandbags four years ago.
Cooley said he’d like to see more action.
“It’s a nice game plan but what’s really going to happen?” he asked.
A regional flood response plan has been in place since September 2003 after Washoe County received federal funds for an early warning system on the Truckee River and major streams.
But only Sparks boasts an extensive plan that covers areas to be evacuated, stationing sandbags and other emergency actions.
Kenneston said Washoe County and Reno will update their action plans, using the Sparks plan as a model. He said the county has more than 100,000 sandbags stockpiled throughout the region. Reno and Sparks officials also have sandbags stored at various spots.
Since the snowstorms hit in late December, regional emergency, flood control and weather officials are meeting routinely to assess the potential for any flooding. To keep on top of their game, emergency officials participated in a desktop exercise earlier this week, pretending the Stampede Reservoir dam burst.
Gary Barbato, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said the potential for flooding exists for the entire eastern Sierra. Carson City, he said, faces a higher flooding potential than the Reno area because the Carson River has no mountain reservoirs.
“Just the snow melt shouldn’t cause any problems. It’s rain on the snow and high humidity,” Barbato said.
