"Most of the dams are built for a 50-year life, which, in theory, means at the end of 50 years you've reached when they no longer serve their purpose," [Tim] Phillips said.
The McMicken Dam was built in 1956, which (I'll do the math for you) was 55 years ago. It was built to protect the Northwest Valley communities and Luke Air Force base from flooding associated with heavy seasonal rainfalls.
Population in the area protected by the dam grew 69% since 2000, and Luke Air Force base is in the running to host training missions for the USAF's new fleet of F-35's. With lives and property at risk (not to mention the economic impact that Luke has on the community), wouldn't the Arizona Representative that serves this district want to ensure it all remains safe? We could dream.
The McMicken Dam runs for 10 miles, serving as a catchment for runoff from the White Tank mountains and the foothills of the Mogollon Rim near Lake Pleasant. The dam diverts water to local washes (dry creeks) and the Agua Fria river (normally dry). You can find a map here.
Seasonal rains in the foothills can see measurements of 2 1/2" in a single hour, and an inch and a half at the dam itself. In the dry, compact Arizona soil, this much rainfall in such a short amount of time triggers flash flooding. The water simply does not have time to be absorbed by the soil. If you want to see some flooding in action, search for "Arizona flash flood" on YouTube. A lot of water, moving really quick.
So, back to the dam. The Maricopa County Flood Control District actually has been planning this for a while - at least since 2006. There was an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers (who originally built the dam) to share the cost needed to bring the dam up to compliance. Then, austerity.
Infrastructure slipped to the back of everyone's mind, and the deficit and debt wars to the forefront. Where the debt we have (literally) won't kill us- failure of this dam very well could. Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson says it best:
"It's kind of like, if you forget to pull the plug out of the bathtub and you forget about it," Wilson said. "You don't hear about it until it flows over the bathtub, and then you hear it from everybody. The dam enters your mind when it fails."
Read more
And we're not just talking loss of life here. If this dam were to fail during a particularly heavy rainfall, the potential loss of property at Luke Air Force Base would be huge. Billions of dollars, literally down the drain. F-16s and their parts aren't cheap. We have here a matter of protecting national security interests- but politicians back in Washington like Trent Franks (the aforementioned "representation") can't see the connection. They'll dump a cool trillion into missile defense that doesn't work before they build a $98 million preventative infrastructure.
NOTE: This will also create jobs. Interesting concept.
Final quote:
The Corps of Engineers and the district had an agreement to share the cost for designing the reconstruction. The Corps was to provide $2.3 million of the $4.9 million design cost. The Corps has paid $361,000 to date, but there is no guarantee that Congress will approve more money toward the project, said Col. Mark Toy, commander and district engineer for the Corps' Los Angeles district.
The Board of Supervisors last week decided to put the county's agreement with the Corps on hold and move forward with the project.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/...
At least the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has their heads out of their rears- If only Washington would follow their lead.
9:40 AM PT: Speaking of flash floods, check out this article about how great that border fence is working out, from the Arizona Daily Star:
http://azstarnet.com/...
2:07 PM PT: An update to the update- The blame is being placed on the Border Patrol not opening the gates to allow water to flow freely through. The gates were installed in a separate, $24 million project (+$21.4 million for the initial 5mi fence section).
http://azstarnet.com/...