Rio de Flag Cleanup and Mini-Citizen Science Workshop

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.

We will host a Rio de Flag cleanup event and mini-citizen science workshop as part of Colorado River Days (bring your smart phone!).

Time and Date: The citizen science workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 25th from 4:00PM – 6:00PM. The cleanup will follow and we will wrap up by 6PM.

Location: Meet at Willow Bend Environmental Education Center at 703 E. Sawmill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (additional parking available at police station east of the center).

Note: Please dress for weather. Long pants and close-toed shoes recommended. Bring a smart phone and a water bottle. Gloves, trash bags, and trash grabbers will be available for use. Please follow instructions to download and install the Arizona Water Watch phone app prior to the event: http://azdeq.gov/arizona-water-watch-mobile-app.

Contact Chelsea Silva at deflagrio@gmail.com to RSVP.

Hike through the Southside with Mayor Coral Evans

Thursday, September 20th, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Mayor Coral Evans will walk us through the Southside Neighborhood to discuss the history of flooding in the neighborhood and potential solutions to address the issue. Mayor Evans is a third generation Southside resident who has lived and experienced the challenges of flooding in her community. We hope you can make it to this informative hike!

Meet at the northwest corner of Phoenix Avenue and Beaver Street.

Reflecting on an Internship with Friends of the Rio de Flag

This is a reflection written by James Archuleta in May 2018 and published on August 21^st, 2018. James graduated from Northern Arizona University in summer 2018.

James Archuleta stands outside the Tourist Home, a historic structure in the Southside Neighborhood.

My name is James Archuleta. I am a senior at Northern Arizona University majoring in political science with a minor in psychology. This spring, I worked as an intern with the Friends of the Rio de Flag on their Rio de Flag and Southside Neighborhood project funded by an EPA Environmental Justice Small grant. My internship focused on increasing community awareness about the history of the neighborhood and Rio flowing through it. My main tasks included: 1) building a social media campaign to provide our Facebook followers the chance to learn more about their local community, and; 2) canvassing along with staff from the Community Development section of the City of Flagstaff who are working to update the Southside Neighborhood Plan through resident-driven process and input. This door-to-door outreach allows us to collect information from residents about their experiences with flooding of the Rio de Flag and how they feel this issue should be addressed.

This project is about education, outreach, and most importantly, building relationships with Southside Neighborhood residents in order to better understand their experiences. The Rio de Flag runs through the heart of the Southside Neighborhood (Figure 1). Like all rivers, the Rio de Flag has a floodplain, or area of low-lying ground adjacent to the river that is subject to flooding. Figure 1 shows the delineation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “100-year floodplain” which encompasses a large section of the Southside. The area within a 100-year floodplain has 1 in 100 chance of flooding every year.

Figure 1. Rio de Flag flowing through Southside with FEMA designated 100-year floodplain. Pre-1920s channel shows Rio flowing along railroad alignment.

This is problematic for the residents of the Southside Neighborhood, but it’s more complicated than that. Flooding in the Southside is a matter of environmental justice. Historically, the Southside Neighborhood was a segregated community. In the early 1900s, the Rio was diverted into the neighborhood. The new channel was built with insufficient space to carry small floods let alone a 100-year flood. This history put low income, minority families of the Southside Neighborhood at a disadvantage. Today, those multi-generational families still bear the burden of this diversion of flow.

The residents of the Southside face a multitude of problems related to flooding. The designation of a FEMA 100-year in their neighborhood means that they have an added cost to their home ownership in the form of paying legally-required flood insurance. In addition, if Southside residents want to renovate their homes, they must follow what is known as the “50-50” rule. This FEMA rule means that residents are required to follow FEMA building requirements for any renovation that is equal to or greater than 50% of the value of the structure being renovated. Often times this means “building out of the floodplain” for such renovations, or literally raising the foundation of the structure above the height of the 100-year flood water levels. The thing is, if they don’t renovate, their properties are in the path of the waters if the Rio ever does flood. It’s a catch 22 situation: pay the high costs needed to renovate, or keep paying flood insurance and leave your property susceptible to damage by flooding.

The City of Flagstaff has been trying to address this issue through a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Their partnership, known as the Rio de Flag Flood Control Project, began in 1995. While parts of the project have been completed, but project design has yet to be completed, let alone the on-the-ground work needed to protect residents from a 100-year flood. In addition, over 20 years have passed since the Southside residents have been approached for their input on the project design.

The work I carried out with the Friends of the Rio will give Southside residents a chance to share their insights. What do these residents want for the future of their neighborhood and river? What issues are they facing and what opportunities do they perceive?

The burden of flooding ultimately falls on the Southside residents. Their livelihoods and their businesses are those that would be directly affected if a flood were to hit. They are the ones who will directly deal with having to clean up, move, or deal with the destruction of their personal belongings. Their voices need to be heard and collecting their input and engaging them in the process is a step in the right direction to addressing the problem of flooding.

Matt Muchna, the Friends of the Rio’s Education and Outreach Project Manager, illustrated an important point about natural disasters: they illuminate and exacerbate social problems that are already in place before the disaster hits. “Social floods” disproportionally affect minorities and low-income communities after a natural flooding disaster strikes. If you have the means and are wealthy, the disaster is tough to deal with, but isn’t anything that can’t be solved with a little time. On the other hand, if you do not have the means, then you end up stranded on a roof top, waiting for help, trying to figure out the stress of how you’re going to get your life back together, paired with the stress of the fact that your life is in danger, and you need supplies and other necessities to stay alive. Flood disasters hold at risk communities back.

For that very reason, finding a solution to potential flooding is important because those pre-disaster inequalities can be rectified; proactive plans can be made. Floods never have to be a problem if the area is properly prepared and managed to handle large water flows without community flooding. Flood planning and prevention matters because it helps everybody out, not just those at risk. It helps keep those inequalities from becoming worse and it allows people focus on the day to day needs that are important. It enables residents to receive the proper payment for their homes and properties, enables renovations, and provides them with a little peace of mind that does not often exist when living in a vulnerable community.

Thank you to James for his dedication to community and eagerness to always keep learning! Best wishes in life’s next journey.

August 21st: Locals’ Night with Mountain Sports

5pm-8pm at Mountain Sports

Test your knowledge on the local watershed!

The City of Flagstaff, Friends of the Rio, and the Southside community Association will co-host a meeting Addressing Impacts, Challenges and Opportunities Surrounding Flooding for Southside property owners and residents. Discussion will include how stormwater/flooding has influenced and currently influences lifestyles and property in the Southside and how to manage the Rio de Flag in the future. This meeting will be Saturday, August 18th 10am to 1pm at the Murdoch Community Center(203 E Brannen Ave). Lunch will be provided.

Locations, dates, and times of on-the-street meetings in the Southside Neighborhood.

Additionally, the Southside community planning team will host street and block level meetings in public spaces with residents, property owners and interested stakeholders to talk about issues related to these locations.

City staff will set-up a table and a pop-out canopy at the times and locations shown to the side. Staff will bring multiple maps, drawings, and tools to help facilitate conversations about what you want to see in these areas. Discussions can center around whatever topic you believe is most important. They will be organized around providing ideas for potential solutions though drawing and showing. Come ready to share your ideas on “what this street should look like,” how could this crossing work better,” “where could more bike lanes exist,” where should better public spaces/parks exist,” “how can this area feel more safe,” or whatever else you would like to design.

From Ditch to Greenbelt: reclamation of the Rio de Flag in Cheshire

Thursday, August 2nd, 5:30pm – 7pm

Meet at the NW section of the Museum of Northern Arizona’s parking lot.

Dr. Peter Price inspects a young willow tree he planted along the Rio de Flag in Cheshire. Photo by Tom Bean Photography

Ephemeral rivers only flow during large storm events such as summer monsoons. As such, these dry corridors are often perceived as and even treated as nothing more than ditches.

On Thursday, August 2nd we will discover how Regents’ Professor Emeritus Peter Price transformed the “ditch” behind his house into a flourishing riparian greenbelt. Dr. Price’s teachings at Northern Arizona University focused on insect ecology, entomology, and biological evolution.

Dr. Price will guide us along the Rio de Flag in his neighborhood where he planted willows and other plant species. These plantings create a vibrant area and provide shade for visitors and habitat for wildlife.

The restoration of ephemeral rivers builds awareness and recognition of these places as assets rather than unsightly burdens.

We look forward to seeing you next Thursday for a relaxing hike. Meet at 5:30pm at the northwest corner of the Museum of Northern Arizona’s parking lot (3101 N Fort Valley Road).

We are suggesting a $5/participant donation for this guided hike.

***Thank you to the Museum of Northern Arizona for providing parking for this event! Thirsty Thursday will take place at the museum following this hike (6-8pm). The cost is $6/person or free entry for museum members***

Coconino Voices: Flagstaff’s relationship with floods

Arizona Daily Sun • July 25th, 2018 • Special to the Daily Sun by Matthew Muchna

Since when is too much water been an issue in Arizona? After torrential downpours a week ago caused street closures across Flagstaff and evacuations in Havasupai Falls, flooding has become a forefront issue in northern Arizona once again.

Flooding has been a problem in Flagstaff since its founding in 1888. A massive flood in 1903 sent the wooden boardwalks and bridges of the quickly growing downtown Flagstaff downstream and established a 2- to 3-foot-deep mote at the doorstep of the historic Weatherford Hotel.

In 1993, Flagstaff experienced another flood. This one was categorized as a 25-year flood or a flood with a 1 in 25 chance of occurring in any given year. The 1993 flood created Lake Continental and flooded large sections of Flagstaff.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) often uses 100-year floodplain maps to designate funding for disaster relief. A 100-year flood in Flagstaff’s downtown and Southside Neighborhood is predicted to cause $916 million in damages, not to mention threats to public safety, health, and even life.

The FEMA 100-year floodplain is significant for homeowners because: 1) a 100-year flood threatens property damage and human safety; 2) it restricts building capabilities and renovation projects, and 3) flood insurance premiums are costly and have risen exponentially over the past few decades.

The Flagstaff area experienced 100-year and 1,000-year floods on July 17 and 18 in some parts of town and the surrounding areas. Total costs from flood damage during these storms are yet to be determined.

Focus on Southside

The Rio de Flag’s narrow channel through the Southside neighborhood is not the original path taken by the river, but a human-made channel.

In the early 1900s, the Rio de Flag channel in the Southside was constructed to prevent flooding of (then) new, affluent Brannen Homes built just southeast of downtown. 

Previously, the river flowed through downtown, along the railroad line, and down a much larger channel that is visible just east of Warner’s Nursery.

The human-made Rio channel was rerouted through the heart of the budding Southside community, home to many African-Americans and Latinx peoples who worked for the railroad or at the Lumberyards. Built too shallow and too narrow, the new channel created a flood risk for these residents.

Flooding in Southside became an issue of environmental justice when the Rio was rerouted through the neighborhood because Flagstaff was segregated at that time and the underserved, lower-income residents of the neighborhood became disproportionately prone to the risks of flooding.

This flood risk was recognized federally in 1983 when FEMA declared that much of the Southside and the North campus of Northern Arizona University sat in the 100-year floodplain.

Southside has been known historically for its racially diverse population, lively nightclubs and churches. However, flooding and other issues need to be addressed to enhance the quality of life for Southside residents.

What’s next for Southside?

Recently, city leadership has made updating the Southside Neighborhood Plan a priority. The goal of the plan is to assess and address current issues such as flooding, parking, and affordability and create a sustainable pathway forward for the neighborhood. Ultimately, the plan will be approved by City Council and adopted as policy.

Over the past few months, I worked with the city’s Community Development team to gain resident input for this plan. We went door-to-door to survey over 800 Southside residents and completed 129 surveys. Approximately 52 percent were renters, 24 percent homeowners and the other 24 percent were either landlords, had culture connections to Southside or worked in the neighborhood.

The majority of renters stated that flooding was not a major issue; however, for many homeowners, flooding was a top priority.

This community input will shape a neighborhood plan that represents the Southside’s vision for their neighborhood and addresses the most pressing issues for the residents.

Now is the time to bring the community together to address these changes.

EPA Outreach Coordinator Matt Muchna is with the Friends of the Rio de Flag.

To view this article online, please visit the AZ Daily Sun.

July 28th: Cleanup Our River

8AM-11AM at Foxglen Area (south on 4th Street)

Recent floods have carried large amounts of trash and debris throughout the community. Join us to cleanup the Foxglen area which got covered in trash after last week’s storms.

Coffee and breakfast provided. Gloves, trash pickers, and bags provided.

Bring your own water bottle and coffee mug. Note: there is not a restroom on site for this cleanup. Please plan accordingly.

Meet at the end of 4th Street driving south (as if headed to the Coconino Humane Association). See map: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1912372,-111.6057563,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1l-GFZIemhY7-cf4PzfqfUS1-9bPYWyOA?hl=en&authuser=1

Public Workshop
Creating Solutions to Address Transportation and Stormwater Issues in the Southside

More information at www.flagstaff.az.gov/southsideplan

Schedule

4:30pm to 6:30pm Neighborhood Tour (Please RSVP to Carlton Johnson at cjohnson@flagstaffaz.gov or call (928)213-2615 to save your spot)
6:30pm to 7:00pm Dinner and Presentation by staff
7:00pm to 8:30pm Break out Group Discussions about:
1. Street Design and Transportation
2. On and Off Street Parking
3. Future Transportation Scenarios – Lone Tree Extension to Route 66, Milton Road BNSF Bridge expansion, and expansion of the Downtown Transit Connection Center
4. Stormwater/Flooding Management and Facilities

Do you enjoy hiking? What about hiking followed by complimentary pints from our favorite local brewery?

Join us on Tuesday, July 17th at Mountain Sports, 24 N San Francisco Street

3 pm Hike
Meet at Mountain Sports Flagstaff at 3pm for a guided hike with Friends of the Rio de Flag. Join us for an informative walk along the Urban Trail with details on local ecology and history.

5pm Music, discounts and FREE beer
Following the hike, return to Mountain Sports
Enjoy music by Railery, FREE beer from Mother Road Beer and 20% off all Toad&Co purchases.
Friends of the Rio de Flag will also be in house sharing information about their organization and mission to protect, restore, clean up and improve the Rio de Flag.