There was a time not too long ago when, every time it rained, even a little, the Charleston Boulevard underpass would flood.
Local TV crews would rejoice because the 10 feet of water behind them was always an interesting visual backdrop.
But that doesn’t happen anymore. Even as Las Vegas expects monsoonal moisture to rise up from the Pacific Ocean and grant us the occassional cloud burst.
That, however, is just a slice of what 30 years and nearly $2 billion spent on flood control has done for the greater Las Vegas area.
Steve Parrish, general manager of the Regional Flood Control District, says that roughly 90 percent of that money — from a sales tax adopted in the 1980s and from federal grants — has gone to build more than 600 flood control channels and some 90 water detention basins.
Parrish says about 20 to 30 more years of construction on more than 200 miles of channels is still needed to complete southern Nevada's massive flood control project.
Steve Parrish, general manager, Regional Flood Control District
