District Overview
San Jacinto River Levee Flood Damage. Picture taken January 14,2005.
San Jacinto River Levee Flood Damage. Picture taken January 14,2005.

Mission Statement: "The mission of the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District is to protect people, property and watersheds from damage or destruction from flood and storm waters and to conserve, reclaim and save such waters for beneficial use. "

Warren D. "Dusty" Williams, General Manager-Chief Engineer

Who are we?
The District was created July 7, 1945 by an Act of the California State Legislature. The District (2700 sq. mi.) is located in the western portion of Riverside County (7200 sq. mi.). It extends easterly to the Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs area. The District is governed by a Board of Supervisors comprised of the same individuals as the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

Act 6642
Why were we created?
In 1945 the California State Legislature realized that something needed to be done to control flooding in Riverside County. By establishing the District, the legislature created an entity charged with keeping county residents safe from flood hazard and established an independent funding source for the projects needing funding. Before the District's inception, severe flooding occurred throughout much of the County during winter rains and monsoon season. Today, through effective engineering, dam and channel construction, regulation, and public education, massive flooding is less common.
What does the District do?
The purpose of the District is to provide the following:
  • Identification of flood hazards and problems
  • Regulation of floodplains and development
  • Regulation of drainage and development
  • County Watercourse and Drainage Planning
  • Education for Flood Prevention & Safety
  • Construction of Flood Control Structures and Facilities
  • Flood Warning and Early Detection
  • Maintenance and operation of completed structures
How is the District funded?
Under State of California enabling legislation, the Flood Control Districts is designated as special taxing districts and is given the authority to levy a secondary property tax on parcels within Riverside County. The District's flood control levy for FY 01/02 is set at 23.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. At this levy rate, a typical property owner with an assessed valuation of $100,000 pays an annual flood control tax of $23.20. Flood control projects are funded by a variety of State, District, County, and city cost sharing arrangements.

Today, the District has an annual operating budget of approximately $80 million, with 45 percent of the District's revenue coming from the flood control tax.

The revenue from the property tax generally covers the Capital Improvement Program projects. Revenue from other sources, which include: the sale or lease of rights-of-way, fees that developers and individuals are required to pay to obtain building permits within Riverside County, and cost-sharing with other entities, make up the rest of the District's budget.

How is the District organized?
There are 195 employees at the District - 100 of which are in the field daily working on projects or structures. The District has seven divisions - Administration, Engineering, Operations & Maintenance, Planning & Project Management, Lands, Regulatory, and Information Technology.

Each division has multiple branches. The organization breaks down as follows:

Administration Branches: Administrative Services (Customer Service, Operations, Purchasing, Facilities); Financial Services (Budget, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Travel); Contracts/Right-of-Way Permits; Organizational Development and Training; Human Resources.

Engineering Branches: Engineering Applications; Hydrology; Civil/Structures; Surveying/Mapping; Special projects; Flood Delineation; Flood Warning Data Collection; Water Quality Program; Instrumentation & Data Collection.

Operations & Maintenance Branches: Operations; Shop; Public Works.

Planning & Project Management Branches: CIP/Policy; Construction; Planning; Project Management; Structures Management

Lands Branches: Property Acquisition; Property Management; Real Property Titles & Right-of-Way Plans.

Regulatory Branches: Development Review: Floodplain Administration; Floodplain Technical; Enforcement; Inspection/Permitting; Downtown Permitting.

Information Technology Branches: LAN Administration; Geographic Information System; Program/Applications Development.
What area does the District regulate?
The District is responsible for providing regional flood protection in all of Riverside County and local flood protection in unincorporated Riverside County. The District is not responsible for all flood control in Riverside County. The District's responsibilities break down as follows:

Identification of Hazards and Future Planning: The District is responsible for Watercourse Master Plans and Area Drainage Master Plans for all of Riverside County. The District is responsible for Floodplain Delineation Studies in Unincorporated Riverside County and the other towns and cities in which the District is responsible for floodplain management. In addition, the District conducts floodplain delineation studies in partnership with other cities.

Structures: The District is responsible for constructing flood control structures in Unincorporated Riverside County. The District partners and cost shares with cities and other agencies on flood control structures that provide regional protection.

Floodplain Management: The District is responsible for floodplain management and regulation in Unincorporated Riverside County.

Drainage Administration: The District is only responsible for drainage administration in Unincorporated Riverside County.