MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: Peter Sanchez, General Manager
Brent Sunamoto, District Engineer/Assistant GM
Do You Need Comments or Visuals for Your Rain, Storms, or Flooding Stories?
The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District operates the storm drainage and flood control systems that protect the Fresno/Clovis area from storm season flooding and provide year-round groundwater recharge. We are pleased to be your resource for storm drainage and flood control information for the following subject areas/topics:
- Flood Control
- Storm Drainage
- Groundwater Recharge
- Park Space
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Press Contact for Storm & Stormwater System Info:
- Peter Sanchez, General Manager, (559) 456-3292, peters@fresnofloodcontrol.org
- Brent Sunamoto, District Engineer/Assistant General Manager, (559) 456-3292, brenths@fresnofloodcontrol.org
Public Contacts to Report Flooding/Drainage Problems:
- Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District – (559) 456-3292
- County of Fresno Road Maintenance – (559) 600-4240
- City of Fresno Street Maintenance – (559) 621-1492
- Fresno 311 Call Center (in the City of Fresno) – 3-1-1
- Fresno 311 Call Center (outside of the City of Fresno) – (559) 621-2489
- City of Clovis Public Utilities – (559) 324-2600
Responsibilities of Each Agency During Storms:
- The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District is responsible for the storm drainage system, which begins at the storm drain inlets and ends at the stormwater basins.
- The City of Fresno, City of Clovis, and County of Fresno are responsible for the conveyance of runoff (i.e., flow in gutters and road shoulders) to storm drain inlets.
- We work closely with the Fresno Irrigation District to move water away from urban areas when there is not enough in-town capacity to hold it.
Location Ideas/Resources for Filming, Photography, & Live Streams:
- Urban stormwater basins filled with water
- Flood control dams & reservoirs filled with water
- District office
- Basin GIS map
Facts About Flood Control in Fresno & Clovis:
- The flood control system is a network of earthen dams and large detention basins positioned to capture and detain flood waters coming out of the Sierra Nevada foothills and watersheds east of the Fresno & Clovis areas.
- The major portions of this system were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-1990s. The Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, as the local sponsor, operates and maintains these facilities.
- Uncontrolled, rural floodwaters have in the past (and still can) overwhelm creeks and canals, causing flooding over large swaths of rural and urban lands.
- Flood waters are safely collected and then diverted or discharged into FID canals at controlled rates to protect the community from extensive property damage.
Facts About Urban Storm Drainage in Fresno & Clovis:
- The urban storm drainage system catches and controls stormwater falling on Fresno & Clovis.
- Over 11,000 storm drainage inlets transport water off of streets through roughly 740 miles of storm drain pipelines to nearby stormwater basins or canals.
- Nearly 160 stormwater basins, ranging in size from about 5 to 40 acres, collect the water.
- Almost 100 pump stations can either move the water from basin to basin or discharge the water directly to canals
- This particular urban storm drainage system in Fresno & Clovis is unique because it is completely separate from the sewer systems, which are maintained and operated by other agencies.
- The pipeline collection system is designed for the 2-year intensity storm event, or storms that have a 50% chance of occurring in any given year with roughly half an inch of rain per hour.
- Storms of greater intensity may result in water back-up into the streets until the pipeline system can catch up. Think of water draining from a bathtub—it doesn’t all drain at once, but it will all eventually drain.
- Water captured in the basins also percolate through the soil and replenish (recharge) our area’s groundwater aquifer.
