Courtney Walker, Douglas County Stormwater Program Manager
WHAT DOES STORM MANAGEMENT LOOK LIKE IN DOUGLAS COUNTY?
Updating the presentation made to the Douglas County Commissioners this past fall, Courtney Walker, Stormwater Program Manager, shared with the Minden Rotary Club what her office has been focusing on lately. Walker, who grew up in the Pine Nut area in the 80’s and graduated from UC Irvine, has been in her position with the County for ten years.
Her first topic was the 3 watersheds: Carson River, Tahoe and Walker River. Carson River Watershed has a number of areas of concern. This includes:
o East Valley with frequent road closures due to water issues
o Ruhenstroth where a flash flood occurred on 9/25/2025. An Area Drainage Master Plan has been created to map the flow of Smelter Creek. This creek crosses several cul-de-sacs and private properties with no maintenance responsibility defined for the Creek. The County set aside funding to help residents with clean up and dirt removal and has advertised this to the residents through site visits, board meetings and public meetings. To date, less than half of the residents have asked the county to do the work on their property, resulting in a hodgepodge of drainage paths should another flood occur. Walker is encouraging residents to reach out to her directly if they have questions.
o Pine Nut Creek experienced a flood in March of 2023 when the water breached the Upper Allerman irrigation canal - which could result in water being diverted directly into the town of Gardnerville. The county is working on property acquisitions to be able to correct this issue.
o Buckeye Creek also had issues in March of 2023. Creek studies have been completed.
o The Johnson Lane area had major flooding issues in July of 2014 which resulted in Detention Basins being constructed in 2023.
o The Carson River overflowed in May of 2023 in the Virginia ditch near Carson Valley Health.
o There was also levee erosion in the East Fork of the Carson River. This levee was repaired in 1997 and in 2005. The issue is that no one is claiming ownership and it is unknown as to who built the levee in the first place.
Lake Tahoe has a strict Water Quality Program with specific requirements for private property, road operations and water quality improvement projects. The Walker / Topaz area has also seen flooded areas, particularly in Topaz Ranch Estates, which is overseen by a General Improvement District.
Historically, a Flood Task Force was established for the County in 1992 (it is no longer in existence). In 1994, 2009 and 2016, Stormwater Master Plans and a Stormwater Utility funding were proposed but never approved. As of 2024, the County now has an approved Stormwater Master Plan but no plan for funding the needed projects. In fact, Walker stated, Funding is her “F” word. She has applied for numerous grants and has received approval for many but they require matching funds for which the county does not have. With 4 maintenance operators in the county (that could fill ⅔ of the community center full with the amount of dirt they have moved), maintenance is good but preventive measures are still a dream in most cases. And the aging storm drainage infrastructure only compounds the issue (such as the storm drain failure issue on Waterloo).
In December of 2025, the Board of County Commissioners created the Stormwater Utility Enterprise Fund, and the County is currently working on the rate study.
Carson City has a stormwater utility fee and the cost averages $6 per month per property nationwide, Other options have been considered such as a ¼ % increase in sales tax, and Special Assessment Districts. Walker feels that a Special Assessment District does not work because of the intermingling of water through irrigation ditches. The topic of stormwater will be on the agenda at the April 16th County Commissioners Board meeting and there will be a presentation from 5:30-6:30pm that evening at the Douglas County Senior Center. Questions? Contact Courtney Walker at (775)782-6215 or CWalker@douglasnv.us.
