Monthly Archives: August 2017

Attend Listening Session on Tuesday, August 22nd

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Listening Session 

City of Flagstaff Community Development with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Tuesday, August 22nd, 4-7pm

Council Conference Room, City Hall

In June, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) received $1M in work plan funding to complete the design of the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project.  It is anticipated that Tetra Tech, a California based private design firm retained by the USACE, will take the existing 90% plans and complete the design to the 100% level.

Figure 1. Simple concept drawing for the Composite Channel portion of the Rio de Flag Food Control Project Design. Source: City of Flagstaff

In order to facilitate this project design completion, the City of Flagstaff Community Development section invites the public to attend a Listening Session on Tuesday, August, 22nd from 4-7pm. This Listening Session will allow City staff to update Flagstaff residents on the current state and future timeline for the Rio de Flag Flood Control project. Additionally, residents will have the chance to ask questions about the project and provide input on the composite channel portion of the project design (see Figure 1).

This meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 22nd from     4-7pm at City Hall in the Council Conference Room (211 W Aspen Ave.). Please come prepared with any questions you might have about this project or the project timeline.

September 3rd: Rio de Flag Community Weed Pull and Cleanup

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Rio de Flag Community Weed Pull Cleanup

Sunday, September 3rd

8-11:00 AM

Rio de Flag flowing near Foxglenn Park, after heavy summer rains.

The Rio de Flag is Flagstaff’s river. Like many rivers and streams in the Southwest, “the Rio” appears as a dry wash for most of the year. But when winter storms roll through Flag, and monsoon seasons pick up, the Rio flows through town and makes its way to San Francisco Wash, a tributary to the Little Colorado River.

In celebration of Colorado River Days, the Friends of the Rio de Flag will host a community Rio cleanup upstream of Foxglenn Park on Sunday, September 3rd from 8-11am. Meet at the southern end of 4th Street (use this map to guide you). Parking available in the dirt lot.

Contact Chelsea Silva at deflagrio@gmail.com or (928) 213-2152 to RSVP.

Location: Rio at Foxglen (meet at dirt parking lot at the southern end of 4th Street; directions available on this Google Map)

Notes: Please dress for weather. Long pants and close-toed shoes recommended. Bring a water bottle. Gloves, trash bags, and trash grabbers will be available for use. Water, coffee, and light breakfast provided.

Thank You Paul and Friends of the Rio!

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Forty two friends of the Rio gathered Thursday evening for an informative hike with Paul Beier, Regent’s Professor of Conservation Biology at Northern Arizona University. Paul guided hikers along the Rio de Flag in Sinclair Canyon, a section of the Rio that benefits from reclaimed water discharged on site which provides daily instream flows. This well-vegetated area is important site for wildlife and recreationists alike.

Paul Beier explains the benefits of reclaimed water for wildlife to Friends of the Rio on August 4th, 2017.

During his tour, Paul described  the potential for moving the discharge point for reclaimed water that is released into the I-40 wetlands in Sinclair Canyon. Moving this discharge point upstream about a mile could create a perennial section of the Rio de Flag that would be an asset for Flagstaff. Perennial streams offer ecological benefits as well as social and economic benefits.

Map copied from a handout provided during the hike.

A few issues need to be addressed before this project could move forward. First, a permit holder would be required to record daily flows and sample weekly for chlorine. The City of Flagstaff could hold the permit, but this would increase the project cost tenfold or more. Selecting the most appropriate permit holder will be an important first step.

Second, a desired flow would need to be determined. The City of Flagstaff and Arizona Game and Fish currently have an agreement to release 100 gallons per minute (gpm) into the Rio de Flag at three sites (including the one at the I-40 Wetlands) to support instream flows and habitat. Would moving this discharge point require additional gallons of water released?

Finally, the engineering design would need to be selected. The project might be able to utilize an existing reclaimed water line at Lone Tree Road, but this would limit the amount of water delivered to the new discharge point to just 100 gallons per minute. Another option would be to install a new pipe to deliver the water.

Paul will continue to explore the possibility of moving this project forward with his next step being the crafting of a proposal that addressed the motivations of the project as well as the issues described above. Follow this link to view a handout from Paul that summarizes this project.

We would like to send a big thank you to Paul for leading this interesting hike, and another thank you to all of those folks who came out to learn from Paul. We look forward to seeing you next time along the Rio!