McMicken Dam replacement meetings set

McMicken Dam in Surprise may be in line for reconstruction and the Flood Control District of Maricopa County will be meeting with residents about this and other projects with direct effects on the Northwest Valley.

The meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., April 8 at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, Surprise.
The Flood Control District has identified the McMicken Dam project and the Wittmann Area Drainage Master Plan as its vital missions in protecting the lives and property of residents in the Northwest Valley.

The McMicken Dam Project seeks to rehabilitate or replace the 9 mile earthen dam located within the city of Surprise between Peoria Avenue and Happy Valley Road. Originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-1950s to protect Luke Air Force Base and surrounding agricultural land from flooding, the structure now provides additional protection to thousands of homes and numerous commercial properties downstream of the dam in Surprise and Sun City Grand.

McMicken Dam is one of the oldest flood control dams operated and maintained by the Flood Control District and land subsidence and earth fissuring have been identified as two issues which directly affect the dam's long-term ability to maintain flood protection. Both issues are a threat to the dam's aging infrastructure.

The most wide-ranging project to be unveiled is the Wittmann Area Drainage Master Plan. This plan is the result of the Flood Control District's initial 2005 study of a 307-square-mile watershed extending from the Hieroglyphic Mountains on the Maricopa County/Yavapai County border south to the White Tank Mountains.

The ADMP is an example of the District's countywide watershed planning efforts to find non-structural solutions to regional flooding prior to substantial development. The District's initial study identified the types of flooding hazards, delineated floodways and floodplains, and located erosion hazard zones. The ADMP has identified five preliminary flood mitigation alternatives.

The District encourages all interested residents to attend the public meeting to learn more about the projects, talk informally with project team members and participate in shaping the future of their respective communities. The meeting will be conducted on April 8 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Dysart Education Center, 15802 N. Parkview Place, Surprise.