LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- The flood commission is drawing up plans to make improvements for future rain events in the Picacho Hills area.

The state legislature gave Dona Ana County $100,000 to study flood problems in the Picacho Hills area, but it will now take more money to implement the plans.

About 18 people showed up to learn how their Picacho Hills neighborhoods could be affected.

Some residents said they were left out of the plans because they are part of a homeowners association.

“The ponds in our neighborhood are nothing but mud. At our expense we just had them all drained,” said Barbara Rose Farber of Picacho Hills.

“People are happy with what we're proposing especially if there's a project in their immediate vicinity or for their drainage problem in particular. If we don't have anything proposed that's really going to benefit them, then they are not happy,” said Leticia Segovia Project manager with the Flood Commission.

In August of 2006, water has drained through and past the Rauber’s property, costing them tens of thousand of dollars to fix.

“We were devastated. It was awful. It was a mess and all the debris,” said Lisa Rauber of Picacho Hills.

She learned then, her property was adjacent to an arroyo. Water flowed over this wall, and washed out their property in the back of the house. Now, new paths and pools at their own expense drain the water.

Some blame the County saying the flood problems could have been prevented.

“They should have been responsible in making sure that he built those ponds the correct way, and that's where it's wrong,” said Farber.

The county is reacting with the project recommendations consisting of improvements to existing arroyos for erosion control or ponds, but not every neighborhood will benefit.

“We were obviously only able to do a limited amount of projects,” Segovia said.

The plans presented are not set in stone for implementation. It will now depend on how much money and when they can get it.

The money will need to be requested either by the county or homeowner’s associations to get these projects going.