On Friday, July 26th, areas in the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA) jurisdiction were affected by a severe storm event. In the Village of Corrales a preliminary review of available rainfall data indicates a 1 hour/100 year storm event occurred between 7:00 to 8:00 p.m (rain map listed below). The flood control facilities owned and operated by SSCAFCA held and managed the storm waters as they were designed to do. These facilities helped reduce the effects of this storm event and protect homes in the Village of Corrales from severe flooding. SSCAFCA crews quickly responded, working though the weekend to remove debris and sediment from inlet structures to allow water to continue to flow and restore the facilities to capacity in anticipation of another storm. Although SSCAFCA’s facilities successfully intercepted damaging flood waters, the surrounding areas were still affected by the intense rain fall. The storm’s severity was increased by a series of storm cells hitting the area repeatedly for several hours which quickly saturated the dry desert sandy soils. The steep slope from the City of Rio Rancho to the Village of Corrales compounded the erosive quality of land and resulted in that section of Corrales experienced massive erosion in the sandy soil. The sediment from the eroded slopes has filled many of the private property ponds, gutters, canals, and ditches in Corrales. SSCAFCA is working with Village of Corrales to assist them in the removal of sediment from roadways, outlet pipes and other Village property. The sediment removal process will take most of the week of July 29th preparing the land for any additional storm events.
In an emergency flood event please contact your areas’ first responders by calling 911. SSCAFCA is not a first responder agency and is unable to provide emergency services. SSCAFCA has provided the sand bags to fire houses in the jurisdiction. To find out more, contact your local city or village government office. If you have any questions about floods in New Mexico or would like to report any damage to SSCAFCA facilities or property please call (505) 892-rain (7246) or email info@sscafca.com .
