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Since a catastrophic 2021 flood, the Doña Ana Flood Commission has been planning, designing, acquiring property, and securing funds to improve and prevent future flooding in this area.
Source: Doña Ana County (via Facebook)
Photos: Courtesy
In 2021, residents in La Union experienced a massive storm that dropped over six inches of rain in 36 hours. At that time, existing dams had no designed embankments, as they were just compacted berms built by farmers 60+ years ago to protect fields from sediment. This storm caused the dam to overtop in one location and completely breach in another. Both contributed to catastrophic flooding in La Union.
Since then, the Doña Ana Flood Commission has been planning, designing, acquiring property, and securing funds to improve and prevent future flooding in this area. Along with consultants at Smith Engineering Company, the Flood Commission has conceptually designed 7 Phases of flood control improvements in La Union, and recently broke ground on the construction of Phase 1.
The dam has already been repaired, covered in base course, and constructed with a hard armored emergency spillway in the breach location. Phase 1 will also include a 23-acre, 10-foot deep hole to control the water before it gets to the community. It will eventually have a storm drain discharge under roadways to another ponding location, but will initially serve as a retention pond.
- Contractor: Renegade Construction LLC
- Construction Budget: ~$1.4 million
- Estimated Timeline: March 2025 – August 2025
