What Does IFCD 3 Do During Winter?
In spring and fall, IFCD 3’s role in the community is clear: manage water levels before, during and after storms. But what role does IFCD 3 play when winter months don’t bring rain, and instead bring freezing temperatures, ice and sometimes snow?
Keep a Close Eye on Ice
Even without rain, Valley Ranch’s waterways and facilities require close monitoring in colder months to ensure that they don’t freeze over or suffer damages from ice. Along our waterways, ice also prevents excess water from being absorbed into the soil, increasing the amount of runoff, which creates a greater need for flood control. Read more about the impact of ice in our previous Waterways blog.
Pick Up Trash
Keeping trash out of our waterways is vital to the long-term health of our flood control facilities, as it can block drainage and damage pipes. Even in the colder months, our team works to remove trash buildup throughout the waterways.
Inspect Our Facilities, Taking Note of Needed Repairs
Most maintenance and repair projects are conducted in the dryer months of the year, due to the lack of precipitation. However, IFCD 3’s team uses the winter months to take note of any items showing wear and tear, so that we can have all supplies ordered and third-party partners coordinated by the time projects launch in spring and summer.
Conduct Research and Attend Conferences
The start of the year is always a good time to dive into newly published research about industry best practices, innovative technology and predicted weather patterns for the season ahead. Our team is always plugged into the flood control community, exchanging knowledge with other districts to ensure communities near and far are well protected against the risk of flooding.
While winter may present less rainfall than other times of year, don’t let the winter fool you: IFCD 3 is busy at work, as we prepare for the heavy rainfall that is just months away!
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