Yesterday
Staring in the early afternoon there was news about parades being cancelled this weekend, other events being postponed until the following weekend or indefinitely and all because of a little rain, strange I thought? I mean it was really, REALLY windy yesterday (I hate the fuckin' wind) but little to no moisture until later in the day. Even then it was raining off and on pretty good, but surely not enough to cancel events, so what the hell?
Then last night on the way home there were road signs with warnings to be careful because the area is prone to flooding or to be aware that the rising river may cause unexpected flooding situations in certain areas. Still, very strange Reno, is there nothing to report in the local news so you start this shxt? There were even reports that people are already getting sandbags together and loaded for the pending doom of the rising Truckee River.
Been There, Done That
Now before anyone goes off the handle and calls me an insensitive asshole and that I deserve what ever happens should I not take this seriously and prepare, could you please just stop for a second and listen. This is not my first time at the rodeo.
In 1997 (New Years 1996) there was a destructive flood right smack dab in between Christmas and New Years that not only did a ton of damage to the area, local businesses, homes and anything else in its path but it also wiped out the company I dedicated 10+ years of my life to.
Before you ask, no we did not have flood insurance because it is both very expensive and then if you can get it its hard to get. Most of the businesses in the area where in the exact same situation. I think out of hundreds of businesses there were less than a handful that had some sort of flood coverage and honestly it did little to nothing to help them out and most of those businesses were gone within a couple months. People ask about FEMA as well, yea what a joke. They were focused on the spotlight areas like downtown for example and did little to nothing for the outlying and industrial areas. I am sure they do their best and there are mounds of politics involved so I can only describe my experience directly.
We did our best to regroup and rebuild and actually managed to get a temporary location just south of the area we were in, so moving equipment and so on was not as big of an undertaking. Although I should mention that pretty much everything was not moveable and was ruined by all of the water and sludge in the flood water.
Everyone assumes when you have a flood that its just water. Obviously this is not the case, in a flood situation its water with everything from toxic waste, fuels and oils to garbage and human waste in it. Because of this it becomes a huge health risk for anyone in and around the flooded areas.
For us, we gave it a valiant effort and the results lasted just over 2 years. I had already left the company approximately 14 months after we rebuilt and were back in our original building. Unfortunately and partially the reason I left was because I saw the direction we were heading, scraping by and waiting for things to turn around for the better.
The reality was that there was simply too much loss for us and the companies that gave us their business which meant there would not be enough work to keep everything going. Many of the businesses that would have given us the work to stay afloat (no pun intended) were also hit hard by flooding so I am sure you see why I felt that it was a losing battle.
Last Night, Into Early Morning
I think I slept for an hour total last night out of the 7 to 9 hours I was in bed. I have this love hate relationship with the rain. I love to hear it and watch it when its daytime and I can keep an eye on it. On the other hand my hate for it comes into play when its nighttime and the splashing of it on the windows or roof, coupled with the wind helps the mind to wander, imagining how deep the water and puddles must be getting outside and the destruction its going to create. Only to wake up when the sun rises, look out and see it was just my imagination blowing it out of proportion.
Although last night the wind was real, no question about it and it was stressing me out as well as pissing me off as it usually does. I was positive that there would be sections of fence laying on the ground this morning but to my surprise that was not the case, whew! Good news and I will take it.
The rain last night was real also although disguised as something much worse because of the wind adding to its intensity. Looking out the window when I first got up things simply looked wet and not "crazy middle of summer freak rain storm flooding the streets wet" like we get once or twice a year.
Crying Wolf
This morning I left the house and while driving to work acknowledged the fact that it was raining a decent amount, but again, other than the dumb-asses on the road driving like there was 5 feet of snow and ice there was nothing like the local news had been reporting and the way people were making it out to be on social media sites.
Once I was at work there were emails flying around with warnings about shutting off computer equipment and preparing "just in case" something goes down over the weekend. I think this is smart, but at the same time its a slippery slope. If you tell people a few times that the end is near, by the third time of nothing happening human nature kicks in and future warnings have very little impact if any at all and fall on deaf ears.
Granted my studio is in an area of the company was recently built specifically for us and has not been through more than the tail end of one very mild winter. Because of this we actually have several leaks in the ceiling that are letting water drip down into a few cubicles (whew mine is not one of them) so I agree that there should be some precaution taken to avoid equipment being ruined but should the place flood, having machines turned off will be the least of our worries as I know from experience.
Anyway, as I write this its about 3/4 through the day it has continued to rain outside slightly. For the most part its gloomy and grey out and that is about it. Ok fine, maybe it can be called rain and not a sprinkling but I still think that it is not to the point of flooding. Its more like getting sprayed by an uncovered sneeze vs. hit by a wave.
To give a comparison, the flood of 1997 was in a sense "the perfect storm" because of the weather that led up to it. We had a huge snow-pack in the mountains and it had snowed several feet in the valley leading up to the holidays giving everyone the white Christmas they hoped for but would soon regret. At the same time it was uncharacteristically warm out, and soon after started to rain and rain and rain which accelerated the snow melting in the hills and in the valley.
The sewers could not keep up and Nevada being a desert climate the ground had no way to absorb all of the moisture. The lakes and reservoirs were rapidly getting to capacity as well. In hindsight they should have let out a little water at a time but in their defense I doubt they ever thought the rain and warming trend would continue.
The Levy Breaks
At some point that I cant seem to remember there was no choice other than to let the water out of the reservoirs and allow it to come down the Truckee River. Doing so is what essentially accellerated and caused most of the flooding and damage. My company at the time ended up under water because we were in a sense, at the bottom of the hill when the water came down stream. There were other buildings further east as well as homes, new developments and farms miles and miles from where my company was located that were hit hard as well.
The biggest problem was that there was now no place for this water to go. The area of Nevada that I live in is like a bowl with us in the lower part and the mountains on every side creating the bowl shape and edges. I want to also mention the fact that about 10 miles or less from my previous office there is one of the main sewage plants for the area. It too was flooded so you can imagine what was now in the water downstream.
The water sat for 2 or 3 days and only receded a small amount. By now it was starting to affect the highway near my office, Interstate 80. Basically the flood water that appeared idle actually had a small undercurrent that created just enough swirling action to cause a dredging effect through and under Interstate 80. If something was not done, sections of the highway would eventually give-out and open another area for water to pour into the industrial area, flooding us a second time.
At this point the only choice was to allow all of the water to drain into a local quarry that had been in operation for probably 20 or 30 years, but closed about 2 years prior. So if you speculated that a quarry who had dug for that long probably had a pretty good hole going you would be dead on. It was deep and went down further than you could imagine so what a perfect place to displace all of the flood water that was currently flowing nowhere.
Sparks Marina
The City of Sparks, who I assume now owned the quarry and was probably not too sure what they were going to do with it up until now had a decision to make, do we fill it up with water or not?
I don't think they had a whole lot of options so the decision was made and the water was routed to the quarry. Both pumped in as well as the areas where it was going under the highway on its own were left alone since mother nature was doing her part to get the water out of the Sparks industrial area although much slower than we wanted it to. The highway had to be be closely monitored so it did not completely wash out while routing the water under. Afterall Interstate 80 goes across the United States from San Francisco in the West to just short of New York City in the East.
Eventually the majority of the water was in the quarry and cleanup could begin in the areas around Sparks, in downtown Reno and further East. To be honest the real work had just begun as the damage was evident, more-so than it had been before. Eventually businesses would go belly up, others would I can only assume unknowingly move into the area while others still struggle today because of it.
Every time we take our fuzzy kid, Oggy. for a walk around the Sparks Marina I think about how it came to be, and how most of the people there enjoying it have no idea the destruction the water did before calmly pooling into this pit. On the south side of the Marina I can look across the highway and see the building where my company use to reside.
A few years after the flood the water the quarry held was being tested and treated again and again, but why? Why was the city so concerned about the water and land around it? Later we would find out that it was because this hole, once a quarry now filled with flood water that had essentially saved an entire industrial area from a second flood and who knows what else was now being stocked with fish and had developers poking around designing and building water front homes. At the same time adding trees and paths, parking and playgrounds.
The area is now known as the Sparks Marina and is actually a really popular place. Birthday parties, walk-a-thons, boat races and various events are held there. To think, it use to be nothing more than a massive hole in the ground. Homes were built around the east side as well as business. There is still work to be done because of the economy going south the past couple of years but it is much more than it was when it was an empty hole. It's now filled with life and happenings all around.
For Good Reason
Everything does happen for a reason I strongly believe more and more whether simply by chance or not. Although the rain that we are getting in the valley right now is no reason to assume we will flood tomorrow. If I am wrong I will be the first to admit it.
For now, enjoy the rain. Take a walk around the Marina and enjoy what was once a meaningless pit in the middle of a city. Try to not worry about tomorrow because not only is it out of our control but more than likely something you paid little to no attention to yesterday could have significant meaning when you least expect it. Possibly tomorrow.
Emergency
Around 3:00 this afternoon they (not sure who "they" are) declared a state of emergency in the Washoe County area. I have no idea why they are going crazy over the rain, its as though we are not being told all of the details or the media has nothing better to do now that elections are over. That would be the horse I would bet on.
Photo: Flood warning road sign
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