{"id":283,"date":"2026-05-14T20:34:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=283"},"modified":"2026-05-14T20:34:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T20:34:40","slug":"on-risky-ground-pima-countys-flood-protection-claim-for-housing-project-questioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=283","title":{"rendered":"ON RISKY GROUND: Pima County\u2019s flood protection claim for housing project questioned"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – A Pima County official told 13 Investigates an upstream levee tied to a planned housing development on the northeast side is FEMA certified. <\/p>\n

Read more Semi truck fire shuts down part of Interstate 10<\/a><\/p>\n

FEMA says it is not.<\/p>\n

Flood control is central to the Casita Village at La Mariposa project. Before the project moved ahead, the City of Tucson consulted with Pima County Flood Control.<\/p>\n

Eric Shepp, the Director of Pima County Flood Control, said manmade improvements in the area include the Houghton Road Bridge, the Tanque Verde Road Bridge, a levee and other flood control infrastructure upstream.<\/p>\n

When asked if the levee is FEMA certified, Shepp said it is.<\/p>\n

What FEMA certification means<\/h2>\n

County officials have been describing flood protection connected to the proposed Casita Village development as FEMA certified. That term carries weight. It signals federally recognized flood protection, something that can influence flood maps, development decisions and how the public understands risk.<\/p>\n

Neighbors and independent experts have challenged that claim for years.<\/p>\n

Tom Adang lives in the impacted neighborhood. He said he has never believed it was a FEMA-certified levee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt certainly has an impact on the safety and how much flooding you\u2019ll have in that area and that\u2019s been the heart of the disagreement,\u201d Adang said.<\/p>\n

Neighbors raise concerns<\/h2>\n

For Jane Rojas, the flooding risk is real. Floodwaters once reached nearly three feet deep on parts of her property. She said after years of back-and-forth with local officials, neighbors took their concerns directly to FEMA.<\/p>\n

Rojas said neighbors told FEMA the information is incorrect, but the agency was not active getting back to them because of the federal government shutdown at the time.<\/p>\n

13 Investigates sent an email to FEMA and the agency sent a response stating it has not certified any upstream flood-control structure affecting Casita Village as a levee. That includes a section of Houghton Road constructed higher to channel stormwater runoff.<\/p>\n

It means FEMA does not recognize those structures as levees meeting federal standards.<\/p>\n

13 Investigates presses county for clarification<\/h2>\n

13 Investigates showed that response to County Administrator Carmine DeBonis, who oversees Pima County Flood Control, and pressed him for clarification on the discrepancy.<\/p>\n

Read more Man arrested in deadly shooting of woman on morning walk in southwest Las Vegas<\/a><\/p>\n

DeBonis said the levee does provide benefits to the area. He said there is a levee structure along the Agua Caliente that is north of Tanque Verde and east of Houghton that has been certified, according to the Regional Flood Control District.<\/p>\n

When asked if it is FEMA-certified, DeBonis said, \u201cI think that\u2019s a great follow-up question, Valerie. And so what I understand from the Flood Control District is that the levee is certified. Now, whom certified it, we can follow up and get that information to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When told that using the term FEMA certified could mislead the public about safety, DeBonis said, \u201cI think it warrants clarity, right? So that we can say specifically who certified what and that what effects that has on the floodplain in this particular area. I think that\u2019s important and a valid question.\u201d<\/p>\n

FEMA says local communities need to clearly spell out what flood protections are actually being used in flood-risk decisions.<\/p>\n

County officials say the Casita Village project can still be built safely under current floodplain standards. But neighbors argue the public still deserves a clear answer to a basic question: what flood protections actually apply to this site?<\/p>\n

You can watch previous coverage here:<\/p>\n

ON RISKY GROUND: <\/b>Critics claim \u2018someone could die\u2019 over Tucson\u2019s use of outdated rainfall, flood<\/b> data<\/b><\/p>\n

ON RISKY GROUND: Tucson neighborhood fights city hall over \u2018dangerous\u2019 flood risks<\/b><\/p>\n

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Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson businesses dealing with wholesale inflation<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neighbors and independent experts have challenged that claim for years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nON RISKY GROUND: Pima County\u2019s flood protection claim for housing project questioned - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ON RISKY GROUND: Pima County\u2019s flood protection claim for housing project questioned - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Neighbors and independent experts have challenged that claim for years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=283\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-14T20:34:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"ON RISKY GROUND: Pima County\u2019s flood protection claim for housing project questioned\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-14T20:34:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283\"},\"wordCount\":697,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/1de7f45169bcdabe58941338fa4ba93c.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=283\",\"name\":\"ON RISKY GROUND: Pima County\u2019s flood protection claim for housing project questioned - 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