With storm events over the past few years causing significant damage to both public infrastructure and private property, the Town of Fountain Hills has moved flood mitigation planning for the community to the forefront.

This process is posing some challenges in coordination with other agencies as well as fiscal limitations. Town Manager Grady Miller has called the stormwater issue a top priority for Town resources in the coming years.

While the Town has worked with an eye toward stormwater management and infrastructure maintenance for decades it was the tropical storm-fed downpour in early October 2018 that provided a wakeup call about the potential for weather-related damage. Floodwater inundated ball fields at Golden Eagle Park as well as equipment storage areas. The damage repairs included maintenance equipment, irrigation and power infrastructure and turf replacement.

Follow-up work at the park has included outlet repairs to the detention dam, rechanneling and reinforcing washes and landscaping improvements.

It was also determined that larger-scope planning was needed related to improving the wash channels through Golden Eagle Park and other parts of town. Construction plans for the park improvements are at 90% complete and have been sent to the Maricopa County Flood Control District (MCFCD) as well as the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) for review. A timeframe for completing review by these agencies is not known, according to Town staff.

To look at planning beyond the park area the Town is cooperating with MCFCD. The flood district is working on an Area Drainage Master Study/Plan that is looking at the wash watershed upstream from Golden Eagle Park. This plan would provide guidance for future flood mitigation projects the Town and district might cooperate on. According to Town staff, progress on the study is stalled due to staffing issues with MCFDC.

In conjunction with the county planning the Town is working on its own flood management plan. Work has begun with staff reviewing past practices and policies. Staff expects to include a public outreach process in this review, however, there is no timeframe for work on this project.

Work in progress

Town staff is working to bring to fruition several flood mitigation projects that have been discussed in previous stories of this series. There are neighborhood projects on Duce Court, Grande Boulevard/Rosita Drive and Brantley Drive that are all in the capital improvement budget for this year. Grant funding from MCFDC is an objective to help with these projects.

The Town is also proceeding with Phase II of its Panorama Wash drainage improvements. Phase I was installation of the new drainage line along Panorama Drive from Saguaro to El Lago boulevards. Phase II will extend the drainage line further east in an effort to mitigate a marshy area. The Sanitary District has assisted the Town in this phase by replacing a pump used to move water from the wash back to Fountain Lake.

The Town is also exploring possible grant funding for a drainage culvert at a wash on McDowell Mountain Road heading north toward the Verde communities.

Long-term flood mitigation projects that may be part of the Town’s planning include crossings at Ashbrook Wash on Delcambre Avenue and El Pueblo Boulevard. There has been no discussion related to planning or funding such work in a five-year planning horizon, but these have long been crossings closed by flood events resulting in potential danger.

Miller also believes there are locations where erosion within washes should be addressed through reinforcement of the channels. No specific locations have been identified for such improvements, but Miller envisions a project using rock-filled gabion structures to contain the water.

As discussed previously Fountain Hills takes pride in the natural environment that has been a key attraction to many residents in moving here. That environment has shown over many decades it is vulnerable to unpredictable weather events, leaving the Town in a position where planning and mitigation efforts are a priority.