Although residents of the Mojave Desert are accustomed to the idea of flash floods, the idea of our arid desert (particularly during the summer months) getting drenched with torrents of water may be hard for some residents to conceive.

But as Zoraida Radona, Bureau Veritas marketing coordinator, pointed out during a presentation on the proposed flood-control district, flooding in the Pahrump valley has been getting progressively worse since 1995.

The most recent notable deluge occurred in September 2003, causing $250,000 of property damage and filling the post office with mud.

To help control flooding, a year ago the Nye County Board of Commissioners approved a $386,946 contract with Bureau Veritas to conduct a study on forming a flood general improvement district.

General improvement districts are formed as a way for Nevadans to fund projects that otherwise would not be warranted or affordable through self-taxation, in this case, for a flood control plan for Pahrump Valley.

Without a general improvement district, communities would be forced to navigate the bureaucratic quagmire of multiple agencies and layers of government for large projects and most likely end up in a costly gridlock.

The proposed district consists of a number of flood control measures, such as retention basins, channels and dams throughout the valley to help stem the tide of what's known as a 100-year flood.

The proposed district would be run by a general improvement district board, which would most likely mean the Board of Nye County Commissioners.

According to Don Allison, branch unit manager for Bureau Veritas, a flood of that magnitude would translate into enough water to cover the central valley in three feet of water that would incapacitate Highway 160 and drown the northwest part of the valley.

"You wouldn't have access to the SR 160 and you'd be in pretty bad shape," Allison explained.

Bureau Vistas came up with three plans for flood control labeled "good," "better" and "best" and ranging in price from $160 million to $315 million dollars.

All three plans include a series of dams at Wheeler Wash, retention basins and channels along a proposed truck bypass to control flooding.

The "better" plan, for $220 million, adds extending the channels under Highway 160.

The pricey "best" plan includes all of the above as well as building out channels to empty the water west of the valley.