Coconino County and neighboring tribal lands are set to receive millions of dollars from the $1.7 trillion comprehensive appropriations bill signed into law by President Joe Biden just before the new year.
The act includes $925 million for the USDA Emergency Watershed Program, which includes two projects within the Coconino County Flood Control District totaling $50 million. The project will mitigate flooding in six areas within the Schultz/Pipeline Flood Area.
The county must accept these grants and allocate an additional $12.5 million in local funds to match. The Flood Control District Commission is currently working to determine where these funds will come from by the end of the month.
“Right now, we’re advocating for them to release the funds as soon as possible,” said Lucinda Andreani, manager of the Coconino County Flood Control District.
“Our plan is to complete the work on the three flood corridors before the monsoon season if we can get the money in time,” she said.
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The legislation also includes $210 million in post-wildfire disaster relief funding from the US Forest Service. Local leaders work with Coconino National Forest and the U.S. Forest Service to draft his $40 million proposal for forest watershed restoration in nine of his watersheds affected by last year’s pipeline fires Did.
“What we’re looking at is basically a three-year project,” Andreani said, largely due to the constraints of Flagstaff’s limited construction season during monsoon and winter weather. Thing.
Although the county is limited in what it can accomplish immediately, Andreani said he is confident the work they can do will make a difference next summer.
“Forest measures, watershed restoration measures are really game changers,” she said. “They really affect not only the level of debris and sediment flowing into the neighborhood, but also the amount of water.”
Just months after the pipeline fires, a particularly wet monsoon season has caused 45 major floods across the city and county, causing millions of dollars in property damage. The Flood Control District spent $8.2 million on his immediate response.
In particular, last year’s floods were the result of recurring, relatively small rains.
“So we know the region is more vulnerable to larger floods than we actually experienced last year,” says Andreani.
Contact reporter Lacey Latch in Northern Arizona. llatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatchNorthern Arizona coverage on azcentral.com and the Republic of Arizona is funded by a grant from the nonprofit Report for America and the Vitalyst Health Foundation Associated with the Republic of Arizona..
