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CVWD officials plan for potential flooding

Published August 17, 2018 1:58 AM

The Coachella Valley Water District prepares for flooding all year, but there are extra boots on the ground during monsoon season and especially following the Cranston Fire.

“This is why, in the desert, you have to be very careful of storms. It might be clear overhead, but those storms in the mountains can create tremendous amounts of flows,” said Robert Keeran, a multimedia specialist for CVWD.

Keeran credits the basins for preventing debris and flood water from reaching communities.

“If you have a large flow coming down with lots of material in it, the water will gather in the basin. The debris will stay there and over a period of time as the basin fills, only clear water will spill over the top and into the storm water channels and go down to the main channel into the Salton Sea,” Keeran said.

Keeran says flood prep maintenance is a year-round process.

“We’re going up (mountains), we’re checking and doing whatever maintenance needs to be done to ensure these facilities are ready for large stormwater events. We have these projects sized to withstand very, very large storms,” Keeran said.

Farther west is the Eagle Canyon Dam. Built in 2016, Keeran says its functionality is similar to a debris basin.

“Events that they’ve had in the past, they are protected from that,” Keeran added.

Events like the storm in 2012 before the dam was built in Cathedral City. KESQ & CBS Local 2 archive video shows the rushing water that damaged several homes and businesses.