Lemmon Valley Flooding
In 2016-2017, our region experienced a combination of weather patterns that resulted in record-setting snowfall and rain with subsequent runoff that created localized flooding. Particularly impacted were the closed hydro-basins in Lemmon Valley and Stead (see Water, Weather, and Closed Basins info below).
For the following several years, Washoe County implemented a variety of barriers, inflatable dams, strategically-located pumps and k-rails and ongoing monitoring to protect homes, maintain traffic safety, and reduce the water level of Swan Lake. In 2021, the water level dropped enough to allow Washoe County to remove the last of the barriers and pumps, and begin restoration of the roadside and damaged parcels. It also purchased the few homes that were damaged in the 2017 flood with the intent to revert those parcels to open space.
The county continues its efforts to prevent future flooding of Swan Lake and mitigate impacts to the surrounding neighborhoods, while protecting the ecology of the valley.
