Lemmon Valley Recovery Update

A letter to Lemmon Valley residents

Dear Lemmon Valley residents, 

During this record-breaking wet weather season, we hope you have been helped by the resources Washoe County and other agencies have worked to provide, as well as the coordination with many of you on specific needs. Because we are dedicated to the recovery of the Lemmon Valley area and continued transparent and open communication with the community, we wanted to share the next steps of the recovery plan with you.

 Command Post

Due to the resources provided and the needs being met, the Command Post has remained unstaffed, as we have not had the inquiries we did when the post was first erected. Due to this, the Command Post will be removed from the current area as of April 20, 2017. However, should any resident need assistance or connection to resources, as always, our Washoe 311 phone number, 775-328-2003 and washoe311@washoecounty.us email will still be available to you. We will also post a large sign with the information for resources at this location as well.

 Portable Showers

As we receive our reports on a daily and weekly basis, we have observed a decline in the utilization of the portable on-site shower units. We will be removing the portable shower units as of April 20, 2017. We have been in communication with a local church, Fellowship Community Church, and they have graciously agreed to continue to offer showers to residents at their church facility located at 130 Hydraulic Street.  Contact Diana Bushey at 775-544-7355 regarding this offer. 

 Portable toilets

Many homeowners have informed us they do not need the portable toilets that were originally delivered to them, however we understand that many still do. On April 29, 2017, we will begin the transition of homeowners taking over responsibility for the portable toilets, should the need remain. We are working with the current company to have the toilets removed, however should residents still be in need of this service we will provide a list of companies you can potentially rent these units from directly.

 Debris Management

With many residents undergoing clean-up of their property we wanted to make residents aware of the “Free Dump Weekends” sponsored by Waste Management. For the remaining weekend in April you can dump for free at the Lockwood Landfill. In addition, each resident is allowed four free dumps each year to the Stead Transfer Station with their ID. Please call Waste Management at 775-329-8822 as hours of operation at each of these locations vary.

 Detour Routes

We have received multiple reports that the speeds on the detour route, including the dirt section of Deodor, have well exceeded the speed limit. Please watch your speed on these roads for the safety of all drivers. Speed trailers will be used on these roads and the Sheriff’s Office will continue to monitor speeds.

 Crawl Spaces

It is important, as many of the properties have been closed up, that the crawl space vents are opened for proper circulation. The sandbags and plastic need to be removed to allow the air vents within the crawl space to circulate air under the home.  If this is not done, the wet conditions will turn to mildew and mold and could potentially create health issues.  The crawl spaces are designed to have vent openings to the exterior to allow cross section airflow, to eliminate moisture and provides fresh air in and out of the crawl space.  Air circulation is important and can be enhanced with fans or other electrical devices to circulate and dry the moisture from the space.  In addition, homeowners need to be prepared if the flood conditions change to replace this protection and close the vents.

 We want to be sure residents understand that although we have moved into the recovery phase of the plan, this does not mean the support and resources to the community are going away. We will continue to have 24-hour pumping of the water, resource coordination through Washoe 311, and the County as a whole remains dedicated to this extended recovery process. Once again, as we continue to implement different parts of the recovery plan, we will be sure to reach out and communicate our actions with you.

 Sincerely,  

Washoe County Incident Command Team