Tribune File/ Debra Reid - A driver braves flood water on East Glendale Drive in the Sparks industrial area on Dec. 31, 2005. Some drivers became stranded and had to rescued by Sparks firefighters.
Talking to a sizable crowd Monday in the Washoe County Commission Chambers about a plan to keep the project moving forward, Duerr said laws passed in the 2009 session of the Nevada Legislature will help the project along.
One of the major changes to come out of the session was the approval of Senate Bill 175, which gives the project the ability to form a joint powers authority. In creating a joint powers authority, Washoe County has the ability to increase fees residents and businesses pay for the services they receive through the project.
Another measure will help with the cost of elevating 120 homes in Hidden Valley and a downtown Reno subdivision to keep homes above the level of potential flood waters.
The total cost of the flood project, the largest public work undertaken in northern Nevada, is estimated to cost between $1.2 and $1.6 billion and should help with flood control, ecosystem restoration and recreation. The hope is to mitigate potentially devastating damage in the event of major flooding.
What flood project officials said they wanted to avoid was a flood such as the 1997 New Year’s Flood, in which Washoe County alone sustained $700 million in damages. More than $2 billion in costs are anticipated if a similar flood happens again.
The corps is contributing about $1 billion of the flood project’s cost with $400 million coming from the community, Duerr said. Much of that community contribution comes from a one-eighth-cent sales tax. That tax is expected to raise $100 million over a period of 30 years.
An additional $300 million still is needed, hence Monday’s announcement of possible rate hikes.
The project is expected to generate a substantial number of jobs, helping to boost the local economy.
“We have a lot of people in our community who want to work and unless we match up those projects with a funding stream, those jobs cannot go to work,” Duerr said. “(The jobs are) not the reason why we’re doing it, but it’s a huge and fabulous byproduct.”
Between 14,000 and 19,000 jobs could be created, she said.
Duerr also referred Monday to a milestone in the project: the near completion of the overall flood project plan, which has been a collaboration of the Army Corps of Engineers, Congress and local businesses and residents.
About 50 smaller flood plan projects are already under construction and in January, the Sparks City Council approved a sewer rate hike to help pay for the North Truckee drain realignment design, a $4.7 million effort. The project is expected to reduce flood water levels by more than 9 inches if another disaster like the 1997 New Year’s flood occurs. Construction by HDR Inc. is expected to start in fall 2010.
The community funding is being stretched by the project, Duerr said.
“We’re taking the money and making it go a lot further,” she said Monday. “It’s on a 7-to-1 leverage, so for every dollar we’ve spent, our partners have brought another $7 to the table.”
Partners in the project include Washoe County, Storey County, the cities of Reno and Sparks, the University of Nevada, Reno, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and others.
But the endeavor is still awaiting federal funding, which won’t be available for two years, Duerr said, which is why local contributions are important.
“We’re basically on hold for about two years until the Corps of Engineers can come in with their federal funding,” she said. “We have to see if there’s support in the community. I suspect there is support by this crowd tonight, but time will tell. We’re moving out under construction, using up cash reserves, but there is a two-year gap in federal construction funds and need your help and support.”
The corps matches $2 for every dollar of local funding.
The project will restore 50 miles of river, create opportunities for fish to travel and spawn and install terrace floodwalls — all to mitigate disasters and protect the wildlife that lives in or among the Truckee River, Duerr said.
“We view ourselves as the protector of the floodplain,” Duerr said of the flood project coordinating committee, which has eight voting members and 15 nonvoting members from the governmental agencies and local businesses. “The water has to go somewhere. We feel passionately about protecting (our land).”
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