AUTHORIZATION: Flood Control Act of 1962
TYPE OF PROJECT: Flood Risk Management
PROJECT PHASE: Construction
NON-FEDERAL SPONSOR: City of Alamogordo, NM
BACKGROUND: The project is located in Otero County, in and near the city of Alamogordo in south-central New Mexico. The city is located at the foot of the Sacramento Mountains near the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin. There are no well-defined water courses in the Tularosa Basin; flooding in arroyos on the west slope of the Sacramento Mountains flow through the city of Alamogordo, causing extensive damage to residential, business and public property. The authorized project consists of two concrete and rip-rap lined diversion channels with 100—year capacity that will intercept flood flows from the Sacramento Mountains, the North Diversion Channel and the South/McKinley Channel along with along with two sediment basins. Section 205 of the Energy and Water Appropriations Act of 2005, authorized the North Detention Basin in place of the North Diversion Channel and therefore a new start feasibility study has been requested for the North Detention Basin.
Alamogordo has been flooded 13 times since 1935. Two major floods in 2006, which were considered to be 100-year and 250-year events, caused an estimated $7,000,000 in damages to residences, businesses and public infrastructure. The estimated total value of property in the floodplain is $618,000,000. The non-federal sponsor is the City of Alamogordo. Construction of the project has been staged to meet the city’s funding stream.
STATUS: This Project was unbudgeted in Fiscal Year 2016.