Message from RFCD Chairman, Justin Jones

Every day the Regional Flood Control District works to keep floods away from people and people away from floods. We fulfill this mission by planning and funding the design, construction and maintenance of flood control infrastructure throughout Clark County to keep floods away from people.  We work to keep people away from floods through our outreach efforts to educate the public on the dangers of flooding.  

As of July 2023, 106 detention basins and 684 miles of channel and storm drains have been built. Currently, we’re providing $163.8 million in funding for nine additional projects throughout Clark County that will add to those totals of completed facilities once construction of these projects is complete.

Over 75 percent of the Master Plan has been completed. However, there is still much work to do.  We estimate that it will take roughly 30 more years to finish all flood control improvements, including another 36 detention basins and 207 miles of channels and storm drains.

One of many highlights over the past year was the completion of the Silverado Ranch Detention Basin and Outfall, located near Decatur Boulevard and Silverado Ranch Boulevard.  This detention basin and collection system will reduce the threat of flooding along Silverado Ranch Boulevard and protect many homes and businesses in the area.   This basin is one of six projects that completed construction over the last year totaling $44.51 million in construction funding provided by RFCD. 

A direct benefit of the flood control facilities built to date is the removal of 65 square miles of federally designated Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). Not only are the residents of Clark County better protected from flooding risks, but many receive substantial savings on flood insurance premiums each time a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) SFHA is removed. Each project built also puts people to work and protects businesses, homeowners, and visitors.

Our public information team works to keep people away from floods by implementing an advertising campaign to educate residents and visitors of the dangers of flash flooding.  This team continues to educate hundreds of Clark County elementary school students each year by using tools such as our new interactive flood table to help us teach the students how to stay safe during flooding. This year, we partnered with the Children’s Discovery Museum to showcase Drainger Danger in a Zoltar machine, talking to parents and children about the dangers of flash flooding. 

In addition to building storm facilities, the District is committed to clean stormwater. Rain in the Las Vegas Valley travels untreated to the Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead, the community’s primary drinking water source. The District works with Clark County and the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas to make sure stormwater is as clean as possible. This involves developing and implementing a comprehensive stormwater quality management program.

Even as we know more work remains to protect the public from flooding, we stand committed to the challenge. Every year we make more progress towards our goal of protecting the residents of Clark County from the dangers of flooding.  The District will continue to work with our local, State and Federal partners to fulfill that mission and help make Clark County more resilient to the dangers of flooding for generations to come.