Too much rain could actually be a problem

August 23, 2012

Much of the Valley is drying out after a second night of monsoon storms. More than an inch of rain fell in some parts of the Valley. Flood Control engineers say many parts of the county are soaked. That could be a problem if there is more rain.

The desert around us rarely gets saturated, but some parts of Maricopa County have gotten up to two inches of rain over the last few days.

The forecast calls for a drying trend but there may still be more rainfall before it’s over. Tim Phillips is the chief engineer for the Maricopa County Flood Control District.

He said even small amounts of rain could cause problems.

"The ground is already wet so the rains can’t soak in, you’re more likely to have greater runoff with a similar or smaller rain event, but if it’s not percolating into the ground, you’ll have more that runs off, and that has greater potential for  more flooding," Phillips said.

Phillips said even though it may seem like there has been a lot of rain over the last few days, this is just an average year. He says the last several monsoon seasons have been extremely dry, making this year seem abnormal.