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PHOENIX — On May 12, the Flood Control District and other Maricopa County agencies practiced their response to a flood emergency scenario in metropolitan Phoenix.
The mock flood disaster involved heavy rains followed by an emergency spillway floodwater release from Dreamy Draw Dam in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. Exercise participants included the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management (MCDEM), the National Weather Service (NWS), local municipalities, and other partner agencies.
The NWS worked with county personnel to design a hypothetical heavy rain event which could realistically affect the Phoenix area. The rain event set in motion a flood emergency simulation designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the District’s emergency action plans for its flood control structures, practice the activation of municipal emergency operations plans, and test the readiness of intergovernmental emergency communication systems.
MCDEM’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) served as the primary communications hub and emergency management center during the exercise. The District provided direct support to the EOC via technical staff, ALERT system real-time rainfall, streamflow and dam impoundment water level data, and water flow models based on rainfall and runoff conditions. District Operations & Maintenance crews conducted field observations and on-site inspections of flood control structures.
“Along with safety exercises at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, the annual flood response exercise is one of the county’s most critical emergency planning events,” said Max Wilson, chairman, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Flood Control District Board of Directors.
Participants in the flood exercise included officials from Phoenix, Scottsdale, Carefree and Cave Creek, along with additional participants from a range of public agencies, including law enforcement, health and environmental safety.
Residents of unincorporated Maricopa County receive a financial benefit from the flood exercise. The District’s participation in the exercise earns points from the National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System, which translates to flood insurance premium discounts, currently up to 25 percent, for those county residents.
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