Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.
Millions of dollars in improvements recently completed on the Flamingo Wash will do more than keep the 3,000-plus homes near it dry. It will also make flood insurance bills there lighter, Clark County Regional Flood Control District officials said Wednesday.
The move lifts a designation labeling the roughly 4-square-mile swath of land -- bordered by Hualapai Way, Tropicana Avenue, Durango Boulevard Sunset Road -- a "flood zone." The federal government labels areas flood zones if they are at extra risk of extensive flood damage should waters begin to rise, Kevin Eubanks, the assistant general manager for the flood control district, said.
Improvements to the southwest Las Vegas area include two debris basins to catch runoff from nearby mountains and six miles of concrete channels to disperse water that would otherwise have flooded the area, Eubanks said.
The $30 million pricetag was paid by the district, the federal government and Clark County, according to a statement from the district.
The stretch of land is among the largest flood zones removed from a Clark County flood plain, he said.
The Las Vegas Valley is currently home to 22.4 square miles of flood zone areas, he said. The flood control district has removed about 35 miles since 1995.
"It's a continuous process for us," Eubanks said of the remaining projects, scheduled to be completed in the next 25 to 30 years.
More than 365 miles of Clark County are considered flood zones, although that number is skewed by Lake Mead, which the district counts as a flood plain, he said.
Existing laws dictate homeowners living in a flood zone carry flood insurance administered by the National Flood Insurance Program, which can raise their premiums by up to 70 percent, Eubanks said.
With the restriction lifted, homeowners can decide for themselves to carry the insurance, which will be offered at a lower rate, Sharon Rorman, a spokeswoman for the insurance program, said.
Homeowner Eric Preston, who has lived on Conquistador Street between Durango Drive and Hualapai Way for four years, said he will drop his flood insurance as soon as he receives a letter from the flood control district needed to cancel the insurance.
Preston relied on the expertise of an uncle, a local cement contractor, to determine whether the area around his home would be safe in a flood, he said.
His uncle told him if a flood occurred that water would flow away from the home because of how it is situated, Preston said.
"I base that on an uncle who explained it to me," Preston said. "I had assurance from FEMA that it (his house) would be out of the flood zone within the first year and it's been four years."
Preston estimated his annual flood insurance bill totals about $500.
FEMA engineers examined the area after flood control officials requested a change to the map, which details hazardous areas in Clark County, Eubanks said. After an inspection of the improvements, the agency determines whether to revise the map.
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