The City of Flagstaff Received $2.4-Million In Assistance To Help With Flood Mitigation Due To Pipeline Fire Flooding

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is providing $2.4-million in assistance to the city for the Schultz Creek Sediment and Flood Mitigation Detention Basins Project through the NRCS’s Emergency Watershed Protection program. The project will mitigate post-wildfire flooding from the Pipeline Fire, which burned over a-thousand acres of the Schultz Creek watershed in June, and resulted in an increased risk of post-wildfire flooding for neighborhoods downstream, including Coyote Springs and Coconino Estates, as well as downtown and southside Flagstaff. The project will detain over 40 acre-feet of water and sediment, thereby reducing life and safety threats as well as the risk of post-wildfire flooding. The project will be located on a 20-acre parcel of city-owned land at the northeast corner of the intersection of East Mt. Elden Lookout Road and Schultz Pass Road. The location of this parcel allows for significant detention of flood waters and retention of debris before they flow downstream into neighborhoods. Flood modeling shows considerable post-wildfire flooding impacts to the 20-acre parcel, regardless of the installation of the detention basins, with a recent rain event resulting in significant scouring and other erosion impacts at this location. While the primary purpose of the project is flood mitigation, additional uses are being evaluated, including trail access. The project will be installed and delivered in late summer and fall of 2022.