Nye County Water District working on flood control.

If residents are sick and tired of experiencing flooding from runoff rushing down the Spring Mountains and into the valley, the Nye County Water District Governing Board’s decision to seek a grant that could help with local flood control will come as welcome news.

Working with BEC Environmental, the water district is currently applying for $295,000 in funding through the U.S. Dept. of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation for the design and engineering of up to three Rapid Infiltration Basins (RIBs) in the Pahrump Valley. RIBs are shallow depressions that are intended to capture stormwater, thereby reducing surface flooding. These RIBs would not only capture rainwater from storms, however. They would also act as a source of recharge for hydrographic Basin No. 162 - the valley’s sole-source aquifer – as well, by allowing stormwater to filter down through the soil.

“We need this desperately. We need to take control of the flooding that is happening within this valley floor. It shouldn’t be happening,” Nye County Commissioner Debra Strickland, who acts as liaison to the water board, stated during that board’s Tuesday, Dec. 9 meeting. “We know exactly where the water is coming from, we know what to do about it. You found some funds, let’s support it and see what happens… I am extremely pleased with this board and its manager.”

If awarded, the water district will be required to provide a grant match amount of $307,000. Strickland noted that this match could potentially be funded through new flood control impact fees put in place early this year.

“That was implemented on January 13 and I have figures through November,” Strickland explained. “So for every home that is currently erected, we are charging flood control [impact fees]… that allows us to charge each new builder $4,000 per home that is constructed [in the Pahrump Regional Planning District], for flood control.”

Strickland reported that a total of $890,000 in flood control impact fees had been collected between January and November, adding that she felt using some of these funds to support the RIBs project would be, “… in fact a highest and best use.”

The water board was pleased to hear that this was an option that could be pursued, if necessary but Eileen Christensen of BEC Environmental explained that the flood control impact fees would likely not be needed, as in-kind efforts from several agencies may be enough to cover that match.

“Since the last meeting we had, we were able to get a signed letter from the raceway [Spring Mountain Motorsports], which is actually one of the target areas [for a RIB], ideally; as close to BLM land as possible without being on BLM land and having the challenges of getting a right-of-way for that purpose,” Christensen told the board. “Thanks to Russ Meads and his coordination with Spring Mountain Raceway, he’s also given us access to all of the information they have on a current RIB they are using on site. And they have gotten authorization from BLM to put it [new RIB] as close to possible to BLM land on the northern portion of the property. So, they are helping to site it, they are helping with technical expertise.

“And we’ve also talked with Jim Wulfenstein, he has some property that is on the northern side, away from developed areas,” Christensen continued. “He’s also written a letter that we’ve submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation as part of our in-kind match for this grant… So, those gentlemen have been particularly helpful.”

“Does the value of the property count as a match?” water board member Bruce Holden asked, to which Christensen replied, “Yes, it does. The value of the property, the technical expertise and we’ve gotten a number of other letters of support from other agencies that we included in the application. So hopefully we won’t need the [flood control impact fee] funding, but it’s great to know it’s there.”

Holden made the motion to adopt a resolution ratifying the water district’s submittal of the grant application, with a second from board member Helene Williams. That motion passed 6-0.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com