Welcome to the Eastern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (ESCAFCA)
As communities around the state have grown, flood control authorities have been been put into place to control growth and protect the environment from flooding and damage. The first community to approve a flood control authority was Albuquerque in 1963, followed by Las Cruces in 1967 and Southern Sandoval County in 1991. As Eastern Sandoval County (Placitas, Bernalillo and Algodones) has grown, it became necessary to create the Eastern Sandoval County Flood Control Authority (ESCAFCA), which was approved by the New Mexico State Legislature in 2007.

In November, voters will vote to approve a bond issue that will provide funding to build watershed management and aquifer recharge facilities. When approved, ESCAFCA will build multi-use projects that also will create open space areas — to maximize the use of the land.

Why worry about flooding in the desert?
Believe it or not, every year at least 20 or 30 days there will be enough rainfall to flood part of the middle Rio Grande region. 2006, one of the wettest in history, recorded six of the top 20 water flows in the history of the state. That summer the Las Huertas Creek flood damaged major portions of Placitas and Bernalillo.

The summer of 2008 has caused flooding statewide with Ruidoso being declared a disaster area. FEMA has now declared much of the Town of Bernalillo to be in a floodplain.
Without flood control, flood activity could further destroy wildlife areas, homes and roads. Additionally, flooding can expose underground utilities or damage above ground utilities leading to even more disasters.

See the following links below for further information about the Eastern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority: Legal Authority (Eastern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Act)

Governor Richardson’s Press Release

ESCAFCA has received support from:
Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority Executive Engineer David Stoliker
Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority Executive Engineer John Kelly
Town of Bernalillo Mayor Patricia Chavez
Sandoval County Commission
Sandoval County Planning & Zoning Commission
Bernalillo Town Council

From the Summer 2006 Las Huertas Creek Flood in Placitas.

see the full story in the Sandoval Signpost

SEPT. 2006: Las Huertas Creek at the Tres Amigos Road crossing, normally a babbling brook, surges with monsoon rain, washing out road culverts along the way. (photos courtesy of the Sandoval Signpost)

see the full story in the Sandoval Signpost

Download a .wmv file of the flood (requires Windows Media) (9 mb)
or: wmv file for dial-up connection (1 mb
video by Bill Patterson

Photos of Bernalillo/Algodones (provided by Sandoval County)

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