The East and West Forks of the Carson River join just upstream from Genoa Lane near the Riverfork Ranch.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
While generally a benign presence, when warm rain falls on Sierra cement about every decade or so, the Carson River can overflow its banks, shut down bridges and turn large swaths of Carson Valley into a swamp.
The last time that happened was in the first couple of months of 2017, as record rainfall closed Cradlebaugh Bridge twice in two months.
But that flood was relatively tame compared to the New Year’s Flood of 1997, two decades prior. Just nine years later, another New Year’s Flood in 2006 saw a record 4.35 inches of rain mixed with wet snow fall in 24 hours.
Next week, Douglas County and the State of Nevada are hosting an educational event to inform citizens on flood preparation and safety during Flood Awareness Week, Nov.13-19. This year’s event will be held 3-5:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the North Room of the Douglas County Community and Senior Center.
“We encourage residents to attend and speak with our staff about flood preparation as we head into winter,” said Douglas County Stormwater Program Manager Courtney Walker. “We are here to answer your questions about the maps and provide information to help better prepare you in the case of flooding.”
Douglas County staff, Nevada Division of Water Resources, Army Corps of Engineers, Carson Water Subconservancy District, FEMA National Flood Insurance Program, River Wranglers, and the National Weather Service will be on-site and available to answer a variety of flood-related questions.
Residents are encouraged to attend the Flood Awareness Week event to learn about the Carson River Floodplain Physical Map Revision, the Smelter Creek map revision, the Pinenut Creek map revision, flood control construction projects in Johnson Lane and flood control planning for Buckeye Creek and Pinenut Creek as well as learn about the Stormwater Maintenance Division and receive information on how you can prepare for a flood. Douglas County has set up a web page dedicated to local flood information. The most current information on County flood projects, and information pertaining to Flood Protection, can be found at: http://www.douglascountynv.gov/.
There will be several agency booths with information and interactive displays such as flood and watershed models.
For more information on flooding in Nevada and additional resources please visit nevadafloods.org.
