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ENLARGE
The Marlette Lake water system, which draws from Marlette Lake and Hobart Reservoir in the hills west of Carson City, is being updated through a $9.3 million state project that will allow workers to control the system remotely.
Hundreds of people in Carson City could be able to drop expensive flood insurance early next year due to a new bypass drainage system that will reorganize flood zones.
About 145 buildings in northwest Carson City will no longer be in areas that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated as being at a high risk for flooding. This includes 28 buildings around Eagle Creek, 58 around Combs Canyon Creek and 59 near the Carson City Airport.
Anyone who has a home or business in these areas must get flood insurance, which can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars a year, if they have a federally backed loan on their building.
FEMA is in the process of updating floodplain maps throughout the country used for reference by governments as well as lenders and insurers. The Carson City map is scheduled to go into effect in January.
The drainage system is part of the city bypass project and the state of Nevada worked with Carson City last year on the $12 million system funded by local, state and federal gas taxes because it helps both Carson City and the state, said Jim Gallegos, the manager of the bypass project for the Nevada Department of Transportation. The department saves money by mitigating the amount of water it has to drain that hits the bypass, he said, while Carson City gets to save its residents money.
“That was a huge benefit to those properties and to the city,” he said.
Workers built a system that redirects runoff water into ponds, basins and even Silver Oak Golf Course, making many properties less vulnerable when creeks overflow, flash floods hit or snow from the Sierra Nevada melts too quickly.
All buildings that remain in high-risk flood area have a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood during the term of a 30-year mortgage. They represent about 2.5 percent of the buildings in the city.
Steve Mims, manager of the development group that owns the medical center, said his business hasn’t had to pay flood insurance because they knew the changes were coming, which he said he is grateful for.
“I’ve had a house in a floodplain and it’s not cheap,” he said.
The insurance would still probably cost a building such as the three-story, 75,000-square-foot Eagle Medical Center on North Carson Street thousands of dollars a year if wasn’t for the reorganization of the flood areas.
About 30 floods have hit Carson City since 1850, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, with the worst being the 1997 New Year’s flood that hit homes, businesses and city infrastructure, causing about $5 million worth of damage.
Carson City manages the risk of flooding and the Carson River well enough to earn residents a 10 percent discount on flood insurance, which is a national program managed by FEMA.
Robb Fellows, the engineer in charge of floodplain management for Carson City, said he sent out notices to some of those affected by the change, like University Heights Apartments, but he pointed also out that almost 40 percent of the high-risk flood area is in open space, which has no buildings on it.
A regional plan for the counties the Carson River runs through — Carson, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Alpine in California — will also help local governments react to floods in the future and possibly give Carson City a bigger cut on insurance, he said.
• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
About 145 buildings in northwest Carson City will no longer be in areas that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated as being at a high risk for flooding. This includes 28 buildings around Eagle Creek, 58 around Combs Canyon Creek and 59 near the Carson City Airport.
Anyone who has a home or business in these areas must get flood insurance, which can cost several hundred to several thousand dollars a year, if they have a federally backed loan on their building.
FEMA is in the process of updating floodplain maps throughout the country used for reference by governments as well as lenders and insurers. The Carson City map is scheduled to go into effect in January.
The drainage system is part of the city bypass project and the state of Nevada worked with Carson City last year on the $12 million system funded by local, state and federal gas taxes because it helps both Carson City and the state, said Jim Gallegos, the manager of the bypass project for the Nevada Department of Transportation. The department saves money by mitigating the amount of water it has to drain that hits the bypass, he said, while Carson City gets to save its residents money.
“That was a huge benefit to those properties and to the city,” he said.
Workers built a system that redirects runoff water into ponds, basins and even Silver Oak Golf Course, making many properties less vulnerable when creeks overflow, flash floods hit or snow from the Sierra Nevada melts too quickly.
All buildings that remain in high-risk flood area have a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood during the term of a 30-year mortgage. They represent about 2.5 percent of the buildings in the city.
Steve Mims, manager of the development group that owns the medical center, said his business hasn’t had to pay flood insurance because they knew the changes were coming, which he said he is grateful for.
“I’ve had a house in a floodplain and it’s not cheap,” he said.
The insurance would still probably cost a building such as the three-story, 75,000-square-foot Eagle Medical Center on North Carson Street thousands of dollars a year if wasn’t for the reorganization of the flood areas.
About 30 floods have hit Carson City since 1850, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, with the worst being the 1997 New Year’s flood that hit homes, businesses and city infrastructure, causing about $5 million worth of damage.
Carson City manages the risk of flooding and the Carson River well enough to earn residents a 10 percent discount on flood insurance, which is a national program managed by FEMA.
Robb Fellows, the engineer in charge of floodplain management for Carson City, said he sent out notices to some of those affected by the change, like University Heights Apartments, but he pointed also out that almost 40 percent of the high-risk flood area is in open space, which has no buildings on it.
A regional plan for the counties the Carson River runs through — Carson, Lyon, Storey, Churchill and Alpine in California — will also help local governments react to floods in the future and possibly give Carson City a bigger cut on insurance, he said.
• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
Are you on a high-risk floodplain?
To find out for sure, call Robb Fellows, city floodplain manager, at 887-2355 ext. 1040 or leave a message with the city flood zone hotline at 887-2305 ext. 1212. What is a high-risk flood zone? These areas have a 26 percent chance of being damaged by a flood during the term of a 30-year mortgage. Homes or businesses that have federally-backed loans are required to have flood insurance. Insurance companies use rates and maps approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine how to issue insurance. More information about the program can be found at www.floodsmart.gov. Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency What to consider when buying flood insurance Flood insurance can range from about $500 to a few thousand dollars a year, depending on the home, said Katey Parodi of State Farm Insurance in Gardnerville. New homes can be built to handle floods better, she said, but other homes that weren’t built as well can cost people a lot. “It’s the older homes that are very unreasonable,” she said. Frank Mansell, a FEMA flood insurance specialist, said it could also be a good idea for people not at a high risk for flooding to get insurance because if their property ever does fall into a high-risk zone, their rate will be grandfathered in and they won’t have to pay more. He said the people who were hit by the January flood in Fernley weren’t in a high-risk area and it’s better to play it safe with such a large investment like a house. “Mother Nature doesn’t read flood maps,” he said. Floods in Carson City over the last 100 years January 2006: Caused by two days of widespread heavy rain. January 1997: Caused by several moderate to heavy snowstorms that built up a large snowpack in the high Sierra Nevada. Large areas of the city were flooded. February 1986: Caused by a warm rainstorm that broke a dam near Dayton resulting in the temporary evacuation of about 200 people. May 1967: Caused by a spring season runoff and possibly a rapid snow melt. December 1964: Caused by an unseasonably warm storm with rain that melted part of the snowpack. About 13,500 acres in Carson Valley flooded. February 1963: Caused by an unseasonably warm and intense storm in the middle of a winter draught. July 1960: Caused by a summer storm along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada that triggered a mudflow out of the north fork of Kings Canyon Creek. August 1958: A thunder storm moved over Eagle Valley and the surrounding mountains bringing on a flash flood near C Hill, which was barren from a fire that year. December 1955: Caused by rainstorms on a partially melted snowpack during an unseasonably warm period. More than 16,000 acres in Carson Valley were flooded. November 1950: Caused by rapid-moving storms and unseasonably high temperatures that melted most of the early snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. January 1943: Rain melting the snowpack washed out several bridges along the east fork of the Carson River. December 1937: Caused by rain on the snowpack that flooded and closed Highway 395 between Carson City and Gardnerville. March 1928: Train service between Minden and Carson City was halted while a temporary dam on the Carson River was built. January 1914: Caused by a storm hitting the watersheds on the Carson River, severely damaging the Nevada State Prison farm croplands. July 1913: Caused by 11 days of storms. Several bridges and dams used by mills for mining and ore-processing near Empire were destroyed. January 1909: Canyons of Clear Creek, Kings, Combs and Ash overflowed causing flooding in Carson and Eagle valleys. Source: U.S. Geological Survey |
Work on Marlette Lake water system coming along
Work that will make it easier for Carson City to tap parts of its water supply is moving along and should be done next year.The Marlette Lake water system, which draws from Marlette Lake and Hobart Reservoir in the hills west of Carson City, is being updated through a $9.3 million state project that will allow workers to control the system remotely.
Workers have had to hook up the water pump every year to run the system, which is more than 100 years old. The only way they were able to tell how well the water was running was through a pressure gauge and by inspecting the pipe manually, parts of which take a long time to reach, especially in the winter.
The water will be able to be turned on in the spring when the project is done, rather than the summer, and be easily increased to meet summer demands.
“It’s night and day,” said Mike Leahy, state water systems manager. “The old system was so primitive.”
The work has caused water supplies from the system to Carson City to be cut back this year. Carson City, which usually gets about 10 percent of its summer water supply from the system, had its supply cut from 3 million gallons a day to 1 million gallons a day.
The city uses about 25 million gallons of water a day in the summer and 5 millions gallons a day in the winter.
Water comes to Marlette Lake when snow from the Sierra Nevada melts. The water is pumped from the lake to the Hobart Reservoir which is taken by a pipe to the west side of Carson City.
Leahy said the runoff from the mountains fluctuates, but he’s never seen a problem with supply. The state isn’t allowed to drop the level of the lake more than 3 feet because of concerns about the fish.
The upgrade project is being funded mostly from Carson City water rates and fees.
Is it a drought?
The Carson River flow is below normal this year, but is not experiencing a drought like it did last year, said Ed James, manager of the Carson Water Subconservancy District. Water was not low enough by federal definition to be called a drought. The city did request two voluntary weekend water cutbacks this summer. City staff pointed to hot temperatures, declining creek flows and the reconstruction of the Marlette Lake water system as reasons for the voluntary cutback requests. Stan Czyzyk of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described drought as a period of abnormally dry weather that persists long enough to cause a significant imbalance in an environment. There isn’t a universal measurement for a drought, he said, because the condition is measured by the relative impact to a particular area. Generally, Northern Nevada gets 7.5 inches of precipitation a year and needs 3 to 6 inches to stay out of a drought. This could change, however, as the area’s resources change. Where Carson City’s water comes from In the winter, the city depends completely on surface water and, in the summer, it uses about 40 percent surface water and about 60 percent ground water. It uses about 5 million gallons a day in the winter and about 25 million gallons a day in the summer. Surface water comes from city creeks and streams, such as Kings Canyon Creek, and is also brought in from the Marlette Lake water system, which is currently being renovated so it can be managed more easily. Ground water is pumped from 35 wells around the city. Source: Carson City public works department Where the Carson River’s water comes from The river, which starts in Alpine County, Calif., as the result of snow melting in Sierra Nevada, flows about 180 miles east through Douglas County, Carson City, Lyon County and into Churchill County. The river started being used by settlers in the 1860s. It usually hits its high point around April or May. Source: Ed James, manager of the Carson Water Subconservancy District Illegal water use One person was given a $50 fine this summer for violating seasonal water restrictions. Several warnings were also given. City staff did do less patrolling this summer due to budget cuts and gas prices. The city limits water use during the summer not because of lack of supply, but because of high demand’s strain on the system. Source: Ron Johns, Carson City Public Works |
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