RENO, Nev. (AP) - Nevada officials say 5 miles of temporary barriers will be built to contain flooding in a neighborhood north of Reno beset by high water caused by storms and rapid snowmelt in recent weeks.
Washoe County officials planned to begin work Wednesday to install a 4-foot wall filled with sand in Lemmon Valley, east of U.S. Highway 395 about 8 miles north of Reno.
Work is expected to take about a week. Crews then plan to pump water from the neighborhood over the wall and into Swan Lake.
Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Sam Hicks said took two weeks to get the data needed to move forward with the barrier.
“Data showed runoff from Peavine Mountain should be less than initially anticipated, so the Army Corps of Engineers and I believe this is the best solution for the short term,” he said Tuesday.
The valley was one of the areas Gov. Brian Sandoval targeted in a letter to President Donald Trump last week requesting a major U.S. disaster declaration for the northern quarter of Nevada. Sandoval said 48 homes in Lemmon Valley are affected by the high waters and 300 more are threatened.
Damage to a berm also threatens a waste water treatment facility serving 900 area residences, he said.
The barrier made out of wiring and mesh fabric will be filled with 12,000 cubic yards of sand. Similar walls have been used successfully in relief efforts after hurricane and tropical storms around the world, Washoe County officials said.
The county expects the barrier to cost about $1.8 million, with total operation costs for flooding in the North Valleys to reach $3.5 million. Many of the roads in Lemmon Valley remain closed to the public, excepting for local residents and emergency personnel.
The high-desert region on the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada averages only about 7 inches of precipitation annually but already has received more than 9 inches this year, according to Tuesday’s latest readings at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.
Most ski resorts around Lake Tahoe also have recorded record snowfall this winter, including more than 55 feet at Mount Rose southwest of Reno.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.