Town officials are recognizing that stormwater management is becoming a significant concern as it relates to private property damage.

A resident stood before the Town Council earlier this year and described the situation at their home on Grande Boulevard whenever it rains.

Water overflows the gutters and creeps up the driveway until it reaches the garage door and front entry. Sometimes flood water infiltrates into the garage and front door. They also said there are those who drive on Grande who seem to like making a game of seeing how big a splash they can make driving by their house. That often pushes the water further into the garage or house.

The council was listening to the resident as Public Works Director Justin Weldy was outlining proposals for the capital improvement budget. He was proposing two flood mitigation projects for this fiscal year and is looking ahead several years at other potential problems with drainage issues flooding residential homes.

Right next to the resident’s home on Grande is a drainage structure that runs from Grande Boulevard through to Rosita Drive, where runoff eventually ends up in Ashbrook Wash nearby. Weldy explained that the drainage is inadequate to carry off many rain events quickly enough to prevent flooding. Improvements to this drainage structured are expected to reduce the flooding on Grande to keep water out of nearby homes.

Weldy said he is looking at a similar situation on Duce Court off Saguaro Boulevard near Fountain Hills Boulevard. He said this drainage structure is also inadequate to carry away runoff during a storm and the result is a similar situation with two other homes. The water creeps up the driveways and on occasion inundates the garages on the homes.

Another project the Town has been looking at for several years is construction of a drainage detention basin on Brantley Drive. This is on the hillside south of Grande Boulevard and storm events often result in street flooding and high water on private property in the area.

The site for the detention basin is Town property, so there are no acquisition costs. The capital funding in the budget is for $450,000 to include design and construction, which Weldy said he hopes can be completed in a single fiscal year.

Just last August Fountain Hills received nearly six inches of rain over a 10-day period. The result was heavy scouring and erosion of wash banks. In some cases, private property was being washed away right up to the foundation of some homes near Ashbrook Wash.

The Town returned some fill to the banks and reinforced them with heavy rocks or rip rap to hold back the erosion.

Councilmembers reported receiving complaints and personally observing significant scouring where private property backs up to washes.

The 10-plus inches of rainfall in July and August 2021 brought into focus the need to address stormwater issues that were beginning to have a significant impact on private property in town.

Town Manager Grady Miller has described stormwater management as one of the two most important fiscal issues the Town will face in the coming years, along with street pavement management.