Water Conservation and Stormwater Management

While Arizona is known for its proactive approach, there’s still a chance of drought conditions occurring with Arizona and Nevada being the first to feel the effects. During rainy seasons, the Flood Control District redirects large amounts of stormwater into dams, channels and basins to limit flooding risk and damage to property, homes, businesses and public infrastructure.

However, given the scarcity of water as a resource, FCD is researching innovative ways to conserve water and demonstrate alternative stormwater management techniques.

Most if not all of rain that falls in Maricopa County comes in contact with a District facility providing ample opportunities for water conservation. Stormwater management is a viable tool in flood control for several reasons. The most relevant to the District’ mission is that it helps protect the functionality of over 83 structures the District maintains. The largest threat to the integrity of these structures is land subsidence (or sinking of land), which is caused by excessive groundwater pumping. Ensuring the integrity of FCD structures from land subsidence-related damage can result in costly repairs as well as increased design and construction cost.