$21M flood control project near Frenchman Mountain completed
A new detention basin in east Las Vegas is expected to help mitigate flooding issues near Frenchman Mountain, Clark County leaders said Thursday.
Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom, who represents the area, hailed the completion of the $21.3 million, 71-acre-foot basin during a commemoration event. The project took about a year starting in August 2024 and finished last month.
The detention basin was created near Los Feliz Street and East Owens Avenue and named in honor of Jim McGaughey, a former assemblyman who was one of the founding fathers of the Regional Flood Control District.
Basins work by acting “like a giant bathtub,” reducing flood risk by holding water in the basin and redirecting it through underground channels, according to a social media post from the flood control district. The new infrastructure marks the 111th detention basins in Southern Nevada.
McGaughey got the naming recognition for sponsoring a bill in 1985 that created the framework for local flood control districts, following the deadly floods in 1983 and 1984, including one that killed an infant and her other four family members. After its passage, McGaughey worked with Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury to create the district.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
