09
1959–20

Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2008-2009

Celebrating 50 Years of Flood Protection and Service to Maricopa County
The Flood Control District of Maricopa County has been
devoted to protecting county residents from flooding
hazards since its creation by the county’s Board of
Supervisors on August 3, 1959. The District was born in
response to decades of flooding which plagued county
residents in the early 20th century. Stormwater runoff
overtopped the banks of rivers and washes, causing
damage to agricultural land, homes, businesses and
critical infrastructure. By the mid-1950s, community

leaders and concerned citizens began lobbying for
organized protection from this flooding. In March 1959,
the Arizona Senate passed a bill authorizing the
formation of special flood control districts in the county.
When the District was established later that year, just a
handful of employees served approximately 600,000
residents of the county. Today, nearly 200 employees
provide flood control identification, remediation,
regulation and education to 3.5 million citizens.

An original, commissioned painting depicting the damaged Tempe-Phoenix railroad bridge during the Salt River flood of February 1891.
Artist: Loretta Musgrave, 2009
Original Photo: Courtesy of Arizona State University Library Archives and Special Collections
2801 West Durango Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85009
602-506-1501
www.fcd.maricopa.gov

Board of Directors
Per Arizona Revised Statute 48-3602,
the Flood Control District is governed
by a five-member Board of Directors
that also serves as the Board of
Supervisors for Maricopa County. The
Board of Directors exercises all the
powers and duties as ordinarily
exercised by governing bodies in the
acquisition and operation of property,
contracting, and regulatory functions.
Board members elect a new chairman
each year:
•
•
•
•
•

Max Wilson, Chairman, District 4
Fulton Brock, District 1
Don Stapley, District 2
Andrew Kunasek, District 3
Mary Rose Wilcox, District 5

Flood Control
Advisory Board
The Flood Control Advisory Board
(FCAB) advises to the Board of
Directors on flood control, floodplain
management, drainage and related
matters. The FCAB reviews the
District's planning studies, projects
and operations/maintenance
activities, and recommends to the
Board of Directors an annual budget,
including the five-year Capital
Improvement Program (CIP).
The FCAB consists of seven members.
Five of the seven members are
appointed by the Board of Directors
for five-year terms. The final two
members are ex officio representa­
tives from Salt River Project and the
City of Phoenix. FCAB members also
serve the District as members of the
Floodplain Review Board and Board of
Hearing Review.
• Hemant Patel, Chairman, District 3
• Kent Cooper, Vice Chairman,
District 2
• Scott Ward, Secretary, District 1
• DeWayne Justice, District 4
• Melvin Martin, District 5
• Wylie Bearup, Ex Officio, City of
Phoenix
• Paul Cherrington, Ex Officio, Salt
River Project

Engineering
Over the past 50 years, the responsibilities of the Engineering Division have
evolved with the District’s operations and strategic goals. Staff members are
currently responsible for computer-aided design and drafting (CADD),
floodplain mapping and surveying, hydrology and hydraulics (quantity, depth
and flow of stormwater), regulation of construction materials, water quality
management, sand & gravel mining inspections, and the operation of flood
warning/weather data collection gages throughout Maricopa County.
From 1959 through the 1980s, the District was the local sponsor of
federal flood control projects constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and U.S. Soil Conservation Service. During this period the
Engineering Division staff ensured these federal dams and channels
satisfied technical design requirements.
In 1980, on the heels of a string of severe flooding events in Maricopa
County, the Engineering Division built a countywide network of 24-hour
rain, stream and weather gages which provides real-time information about
rainfall, weather conditions and potential flooding to the District, National
Weather Service, municipalities and other agencies.
By the 1990s, the federal government was no longer constructing flood
control structures in Maricopa County. At the same time, the District shifted
its emphasis to non-structural approaches to solving flooding hazards.
Engineering staff engaged in mapping and delineating floodplains in
advance of future development through the formulation of survey and
hydrologic data.
In sum, the Engineering Division has its hands on virtually every District
flood control project and plays a direct role in protecting every Maricopa
County citizen from flooding hazards.

Planning and Project Management
Fifty years ago, in the infancy of the Flood Control District of Maricopa
County, there wasn’t even a glimmer in the eye of the District for a Planning
and Project Management (PPM) Division. The evolution of the PPM Division
as we know it today occurred over the past 10 to 25 years, gradually
bringing together the five distinct branches in operation today: Planning,
Project Management, Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Policy,
Construction Management, and Structures Management.
Twenty-five years ago, most projects undertaken by that part of the District
organization that would become the PPM Division primarily included federal
projects with the District as the local sponsor. These projects included
Indian Bend Wash and the “Phoenix and Vicinity including New River” mega
projects featuring four dams and the Arizona Canal Diversion Channel
(ACDC) project. As the local sponsor, the District acquired rights-of-way and
relocated or constructed new infrastructure improvements in support of the
federal projects.
Today we participate in very few federal projects, focusing our efforts primarily
on local projects, working with our local agency and municipal customers,
generally with the District serving as the lead agency. As recently as 25 years
ago, the District’s CIP was funded through revenues generated by a 50-cent
tax rate. Today the District implements the CIP, primarily relying on the efforts
of the PPM Division, through numerous design and construction projects each
fiscal year with an approximately $60 million CIP budget funded by a tax rate of
only 14 cents. Capital projects and the evolution and involvement of the PPM
Division have come a long way in 50 years.

Operations and Maintenance

August 1963

$2.9 million

A little more than 30 years ago, the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Branch of
the Construction and Operations Division boasted six employees, four trucks,
one concrete mixer, one 400-gallon water tank, one water pump and one chain
saw. Today, a more sophisticated level of effort is required to maintain the
District’s flood control structures and facilities.
In the 1980s, the O&M Branch split its maintenance crews into separate yards in
the West and Southeast Valley to reduce travel time between maintenance jobs.
Additional savings were realized by establishing a four-day work week. New
flood control projects brought new challenges. The addition of 60,000
landscape plants along Reach 1 of the Arizona Canal Diversion Channel (ACDC)
in 1989 signaled a significant change in maintenance duties as O&M crews
began learning tree and irrigation maintenance techniques.

1963—A severe storm causes water to breach
the Grand Canal, leading to flooding in Glendale
and the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix. This
dog takes refuge on the hood of a Corvette at
70th Avenue and Campbell Avenue.

Winter 1965-1966
September 1970

$6 million
$590,000

By 1991, the O&M Branch had 92 employees maintaining 56 flood control
facilities including 21 dams. The North Yard maintenance facility opened in
1992. Two years later a second satellite yard was added in the East Valley. By
1994, a Work Control Center was created to coordinate inspections, schedule
work, track maintenance costs and manage resources for 65 structures, 95 fulltime employees and an $8 million budget. In 1997 the Construction and
Operations Division was reorganized to become the new Operations and
Maintenance Division.
Today, the O&M Division has 57 employees maintaining both aging infrastructure
and new projects, including multi-use projects which offer recreational
opportunities and wildlife habitat preservation. The Division focuses on educating
its employees to comply with a multitude of strict environmental regulations,
including air quality, water quality and habitat management.

Floodplain Management and Services
1970—The remnants of Tropical Storm Norma
causes significant rainfall and 23 floodrelated deaths during Labor Day weekend.
Here is the view at 48th Street and Van Buren
Street in Phoenix.

June 1972
March 1978
December 1978
February 1980
January 1993
February 2005

$10.6 million
$37 million
$51.8 million
$63.7 million
$38 million
$6.5 million

Over the past 35 years, floodplain management and regulation has played an
increasingly important role in the successful accomplishment of the Flood
Control District's mission.
1974: The first Floodplain Regulations for the Unincorporated Area of
Maricopa County were adopted.
1979: The Maricopa County Board of Directors adopted the first Flood
Insurance Rate Maps for the District.
1983: Drainage review functions were transferred to the District.
1990: The District formally applied for participation in the National Flood
Insurance Program’s Community Rating System program (CRS),
managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
1994: The Regulatory Division was born.
1999: Maricopa County’s One Stop Shop opened for development permitting. In
2005, District employees at the One Stop Shop contracted with the county’s
Planning and Development Department to process drainage permits.
2004: Drainage review functions were transferred back to the county’s
Planning and Development Department.

2005—The governor declares a state of
emergency in the Town of Wickenburg after
rainfall exceeding 1.5 inches per hour falls
during Feb. 11 and 12. The Hassayampa River
erodes its banks near the town, washing away
two mobile homes and two vehicles. The
Sheriff's Office rescues 21 individuals in 11
separate floodwater incidents.

2006: Revisions to the Floodplain Regulations for Maricopa County and new
fee schedule were adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
2008: The District received a CRS program Class 5 rating for unincorporated
Maricopa County. This rating reduces flood insurance rates for residents
in the unincorporated county. Only 50 communities in the nation have
a Class 5 rating or better.
2007-2010: The Regulatory Division name changed to Floodplain Management
& Services Division.

2009 Financial Highlights
Preliminary and Unaudited

Revenue Collection Status
Full Year
Revised Budget
Property Taxes
Licenses & Permits
Partnership Reimbursements
Payments in Lieu
Interest Earnings
Miscellaneous Revenue

Collections
Full Year

Collections
Remaining

$74,096,526
746,000
–
133,384
900,000
7,609,868

$72,672,487
4,311,552
51,729
132,102
1,377,433
26,903,923

$1,424,039
(3,565,552)
(51,729)
1,282
(477,433)
(19,294,055)

$83,485,778

$105,449,226

$(21,963,448)

Operating Budget – Financial Comparative

Net Payroll
Net Supplies
Net Services
Net Capital
Intergovernmental Payments

Full Year
Budget

Full Year
Actual

Funds
Remaining

$14,737,201
2,228,541
15,906,363
1,559,217
1,530,966

$14,985,839
1,412,517
12,830,735
1,149,433
2,889,910

$(248,638)
816,024
3,075,628
409,784
(1,358,944)

$35,962,288

$33,268,435

$2,693,853

Capital Improvement Program

Force Account Payroll
Land Acquisition
Construction

Full Year
Budget

Full Year
Actual

Funds
Remaining

$2,695,969
8,357,000
48,947,031

$2,152,288
4,901,078
47,212,331

$543,681
3,455,922
1,734,700

$60,000,000

$54,265,697

$5,734,303

Fund Balance Reserves

Beginning Fund Balance
Total Revenue Collected
Less Expenses
Transfer Out/In

Operating Fund

CIP Fund

Total
Fund Reserve

$16,152,622
105,449,226
(33,268,435)
(44,709,458)

$23,950,675
11,889,325
(54,265,697)
44,709,458

$40,103,297
117,338,551
(87,534,132)
0

$43,623,955

$26,283,761

$69,907,716