Damien Cole has resided at the Riverside Artist Lofts in downtown Reno for a dozen years. So when he saw rain clouds roll in two Sundays ago, he headed straight to the building’s lobby.
In a video posted online, Cole showed the sidewalk outside submerged in water. It was so deep, you couldn’t even see the storm drains.
“I'm trying to prevent the water from coming in the building. See how there's water all the way over the sidewalk? Because once that drain is over flooded, it’s not big enough, it has nowhere else to go,” Cole said in the video.
Mark Deutschendorf, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in Reno, said the storm hit the northern half of the city hardest.
“We only average a little more than seven inches for an entire year, so getting 1/7 of our annual rainfall in an hour is pretty impressive,” Deutschendorf said.
Intense storms strain the drains
The deluge caused disruptions throughout Washoe County, including a mudslide in Red Rock, the closure of the Rock Boulevard underpass, and rushing water through city streets.
Some areas experienced what’s called a 100-year rainfall, meaning there is a 1% chance it’ll happen in any given year.
But throughout the City of Reno, storm drains are really only equipped to handle five-year storms, said Jon Simpson, the engineering manager in the utility service department.
“The storm drain doesn’t have capacity after you get to a five-year event, so the pipes can be full of water, and no more water can get into those pipes, and so after that, really, your roadway becomes the drainage mechanism,” Simpson said.
There are 500 miles of storm drain pipe in the city, and some are a century old. Widening them or adding more or any kind of capital improvement project isn’t cheap. Simpson said it can cost millions of dollars.
In 2023, Reno City Council discussed creating a dedicated stormwater utility fee for residents and businesses to address the backlog of infrastructure needs. However, those conversations dried up. Storm drain maintenance is currently funded by the city’s quarterly sewer utility bills.
“Funding for capital improvements for the storm drain system can always improve the system,” Simpson said. “We have backlog of infrastructure that we know that we need to take care of, but we stay within our budget."
Storm drain budgets caught in a political current
In other news, the Truckee River Flood Management Authority board is considering two possible park designs, which could both serve as a flood mitigation mechanism south of the Truckee River between South Rock and McCarran Boulevards.
In Washoe County, revenue from fuel tax goes to pavement maintenance, and about a quarter of that goes to storm drain systems, according to Aaron Smith, the director of operations.
“We’re having to make difficult decisions on how [to] use taxpayer dollars to provide the most value to the community,” Smith said.
Smith said it’s a balancing act for elected officials to accept risk, and there are a number of factors to consider.
“Is it going to impact senior programs, or schools, or vulnerable populations? If a stormwater asset fails and it is going to cover a road, those people can’t get to work, and then making sure we’re being environmentally friendly,” Smith said.
It’s a politically fraught conversation, and one that probably won’t wash away any time soon as climate change increases extreme weather.
