Where Does the Water in Valley Ranch Go?

Collecting water from throughout Valley Ranch during rain, snow and ice storms is a pretty easy route to follow.

At least, initially.

When rain falls inside the service area of Irving Flood Control District Section III (IFCD 3), it lands everywhere in the community. Much of the water falls on lawns, grass-covered parks, other open land, as well as the sidewalks that cut through these natural surfaces.

As one might expect, water hitting these spaces generally soaks right into the ground. Yet, when rainfall arrives in large quantities – either due a dramatically heavy storm or from precipitation occurring across an extended period of time – the ground may be unable to absorb that amount of water. As a result, water begins to run off of these surfaces into streets or directly into streams and other waterways.

At the same time, when roofs, parking lots and other hard surfaces receive this rain, the water generally is routed to city streets. From streets, it then passes into nearby storm sewer inlets across Valley Ranch. From there, the water is gathered in underground pipes and routed into the District’s network of canals and streams.

The rest of the rain that comes down on Valley Ranch lands on all sorts of different structures, from office buildings and retail outlets to homes, apartments and parking garages. While some of this rain is routed directly to the ground around the various facilities, the bulk of the water is collected through a network of gutters and downspouts from roofs, and drains throughout parking structures, to end up in storm sewers and creeks. The water ultimately arrives at the busiest junction of the IFCD 3 system –the IFCD 3 pump station.

Is what happens to the water when it arrives at the pump station a simple, straight-forward question… or, one with an unexpected twist? If there aren’t flood waters throughout Valley Ranch when it rains heavily, does that mean the flooding simply moved to the pump station area or beyond? Are there ever concerns about water backing up into the community, just as a clogged pipe can make an empty sink or bathtub accidently fill up? Stay tuned… the answers to these questions and more will be featured in the next installment of WaterWays!