FPCC Resolution No. 2008-1 will be sent to the Washoe County Commission and Sparks and Reno city councils for consideration, but the committee was in full support and some residents who attended the meeting asked members to do more in relation to the storage mitigation, said Naomi Duerr, director of the Truckee River Flood Project.
“The board works on 100 percent consensus,” Duerr said. “Everything they approve has to be approved by everybody. ...This is a good step to protect the residents. We’ve been working on this for over two years and the residents are really feeling great.”
The Floodplain Storage Volume Mitigation Model Ordinance has gone through a series of recommendations, Duerr said, about the level of fill, such as dirt, and excavation in compliance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ requirements. The corps maintains an interest in protecting the floodplain and preserving the ecosystem from development.
Also, Duerr said the committee received updates from Garth Oksol, the project manager for the Regional Transportation Commission, on the southeast connector, the future link between southeast Reno north of South Meadows Parkway to Sparks. The connector would pass in an area prone to floods.
The FPCC also is planning a retreat in November to discuss the 40 projects that are part of the flood plan, as well as the level of flood protection, or flood risk, and prioritize the region’s needs.
“There has to be a decision made on what is acceptable flood risk,” Duerr said. “Are we willing to stay dry in a 50-year flood or 100-year flood? What about a 250-year flood? Some communities in California have a 500-year flood plan to stay dry all the time.”
The discussion raises questions about cost, whether to keep or dismiss some projects and how to work with the Corps of Engineers for flood management and river restoration.
The first construction for the project began with the groundbreaking of the 102 Ranch restoration on Sept. 18, Duerr said.
In three weeks, groundbreaking for the restoration of the Truckee River at Lockwood will begin, with the Flood Project Coordinating Committee financing the project. Washoe County received $3.1 million from the last session of the Nevada Legislature, a portion of which is going toward Lockwood.
The Truckee River Flood Project, costing an estimated $800 million, is the largest public works project in northern Nevada that will coordinate flood control, recreation and wildlife restoration.
The committee on Friday also approved a tenant relocation payment of $100,230.23 for displaced businesses from 125 Edison Way as part of an acquisition included in the Flood Management Project, a requirement of the Nevada Revised Statutes. The county purchased the building on Oct. 29, 2007.
“This is a key time,” Duerr said. “We have a lot of public input into the design of the project and there’s going to be a lot of discussion.”
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