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Buckeye No. 1 Flood Retarding Structure

Rehabilitation Fact Sheet

Project Name: Buckeye No. 1 Flood Retarding Structure (FRS)

Sponsors:

  1. Flood Control District of Maricopa County
  2. Agua Fria-New River Natural Resource Conservation District
  3. Buckeye Valley Natural Resource Conservation District

Project Location: Western Maricopa County, Arizona

Authorization: Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, Public Law 83-566, as amended, and Public Law 106-472, Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 2000.

Project Summary:

The Buckeye No. 1 Flood Retarding Structure (FRS) was constructed by the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service - NRCS) in 1975. It is currently operated and maintained by the Flood Control District of Maricopa County. The 7.1-mile-long earthen structure provides flood protection to the Town of Buckeye, including an estimated 800 residents, 300 structures, agricultural land, and infrastructure. Additional residents and structures will be protected in the future as expected development occurs in the downstream benefitted area.

The FRS has developed safety deficiencies since the time of its construction, including embankment cracking. To address these deficiencies, the Project Sponsors, with assistance from the NRCS, are developing a Supplemental Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment (Plan/EA). The Plan/EA will call for rehabilitation of the FRS to provide for continued flood protection while meeting current safety and performance standards.

The Dam Rehabilitation Program administered by NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to help local Sponsors rehabilitate aging dams that were originally constructed with NRCS Watershed Program assistance. NRCS, Sponsors, and the Arizona Dam Safety Office are currently working on nine high priority dams needing rehabilitation. In order to receive federal funds for dam rehabilitation, local Sponsors must provide 35 percent of the total project costs.



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