It’s being called a 10-year storm and based on some of the flooding it caused, it earned that distinction.

A major storm on Aug. 10, which dumped more than an inch of rain in less than an hour, resulted in damage to the Carroll Canyon Wash bank along city-owned property located at Shelby Drive, the site of Sedona Recycles. A city report states that the damage and lost work area in the southeast corner of the recycle center is fairly significant. The erosion damage from this storm also made it apparent that it would be prudent to stabilize the wash bank adjacent to the city’s major pump station.

City Engineer Andy Dickey told the Sedona City Council on Sept. 27 that following that storm, city staff met with construction firms to discuss alternatives and recommendations to make immediate and permanent improvements to the eroded wash bank. Due to the urgent nature of the situation, he said a consultant and contractor were directly selected to complete the work as sole source. In addition, since the work was unanticipated, it was not budgeted. Therefore, funds are requested to be used from contingency.

The council unanimously approved the work to be done, which is estimated to cost around $90,000. The design is expected to be finished within a week with construction beginning soon after and taking about two weeks to complete.

“The Aug. 10 event was unusual, it was only like an inch and a third of rain but the rainfall rate must have been high because it was a big flood,” said Doug Copp, president of Sedona Recycles. “We lost the corner of our storage/shop area where we do a lot of repairs. The erosion also came right up the edge of our glass bunkers where we store glass. So another flood going further into the bank would severely impact our operation.”