Going green

Diana Sahagun

Monday, June 5, 2000 | 11:29 a.m.

What is now 60 acres of a rough concrete flood basin in North Las Vegas could one day be home to lush soccer fields and a meandering trail system.

Already in northwest Las Vegas, one flood control basin has been transformed into soccer fields. Henderson has similar plans for a new detention basin in Green Valley, and Clark County is planning to follow suit, turning rocky washes into green recreational areas.

Putting detention basins and washes to recreational uses has become a trend not only across the Las Valley Valley but also in other states.

Of the 45 detention basins in Las Vegas, only one has been transformed into a recreational area so far -- the Gowan North Detention Basin, at Tenaya Way and Gowan Road. But other basins about to come online are now incorporating the idea into construction.

Private developers have already discovered the benefits of combining washes with recreation. The Desert Rose and Wintergreen golf courses on the northeast side of the valley follow the Las Vegas Wash, and in Henderson jogging trails follow the natural curve of various parts of the Pittman Park Detention Basin.

North Las Vegas officials have made the greening of the Lower Las Vegas Wash Detention Basin, at Washburn Road and Scott Robinson Boulevard, one of their top priorities in the coming fiscal year. They plan to lobby hard for federal funding, but if that fails, they will squeeze their own budget to find the money, officials say.

When it was built in 1986, the $10 million flood basin in North Las Vegas was planned for a joint-use purpose, for two soccer fields and a trail system to be built on 60 tiered areas of the basin. The concrete base was put in, but no money has been available to complete the plan on the berms surrounding it, city Public Works Director Jim Bell said.

The Clark County Regional Flood Control District pays for the construction of basins from a quarter-cent sales tax approved by the voters in 1986, but does not provide funding for recreational uses. It only helps with the design.

While other basins have incorporated recreational fields as an afterthought, in North Las Vegas it was a forethought, Bell said.

"This wash sets itself apart from others because of the joint-use design," he said on a recent tour of the basin. "It saved us money and was more cost-effective because it was more than just a storage basin.

"It would be ready today, if we had the funding," he said. "When this is fully developed, you're going to look at a beautiful, emerald bowl out there."

Such multi-use designs not only are encouraged by the flood control district, but it saves money in the long run, Betty Hollister, the district's public information administrator, said.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for taxpayer dollars to be used as multipurpose use," she said. "It has become a trend to build them as multi-use."

The $2.6 million Gowan North basin was completed in 1997. It includes four soccer fields at the bottom of the detention basin and a parking lot on 11 acres of city land around the flood-control project. In the next wave of conversions, officials say the playing fields will be elevated inside the base at the 25-year flood level.

But other basins about to be built are incorporating the multi-use design into the plans, such as the Lakes Durango Basin along Desert Inn and Durango Drive, which should be completed by August.

Ball fields also are planned for the neighboring Gowan South Detention Basin, which will be excavated this summer to deepen the basin. And the Del Webb Anthem and Equestrian detention basins in Henderson are opting for soccer fields. The Arroyo Grande Sports Park, part of the Pittman Park Detention Basin, has ball fields and is also planning for soccer fields.

The extensive flood system wrapping around the valley is important to keep residents dry during major floods, like the one that pummeled the valley last July, Hollister said.

So much rain fell that the South Gowan Basin almost overflowed, filling with 106 million gallons of water, near its total capacity of 140 million gallons. Eighteen hours later the basin was fully drained.

Following the flooding at the North Gowan Basin, city crews had to clean debris away from the playing fields and there are still portions that are unusable.

The basins work in combination with channels and storm drains to slow and reduce the flow of water as it travels to the Las Vegas Wash and out to Lake Mead.

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, who has been on the flood board for three years and is now chairman, said turning detention basins into recreational areas will be the future of master plans for parks.

"The land is free ... and if we partner with the flood district, we can literally save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by going in and planning the park component in conjunction with the flood component," he said. "When you can do that, the ultimate benefit to the taxpayer is just immeasurable.

"That kind of opportunity is something we should be looking at every time a flood control project is either expanded or put under construction," he said.

While Las Vegas is just beginning to see the benefits of multi-use facilities, Maricopa County, the area covering the Phoenix metropolitan area, has had enormous success with its recreational flood control projects.

Similar in size and weather to Las Vegas, the Phoenix area floods because the ground does not absorb as much water as it used to, said Kris Baxter, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County flood control district.

Like Las Vegas, the Maricopa district does not fund recreational facilities, but works with local governments to determine what the cities need -- be it soccer fields, parks or trails.

The flood district helped with its first recreational facility in the 1970s on Indian Bend Wash in the city of Scottsdale, Ariz. The wash is 8-miles long and is designed as a grass-lined green belt.

There are also numerous projects beginning in Phoenix suburbs of Glendale, Buckeye, Goodyear and Avendale.

After a visit to Las Vegas last month, Baxter said the city could benefit by looking at alternative uses to concrete basins.

"There's a real opportunity to avoid traditional engineering traps, which is building it in such a way that it's structurally sound ... and cheap and easy to build," she said. "It takes real creativity to work with the city to make a flood-control facility into a community amenity, and the public appreciates that joint-use for their dollars."

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