Valley officials and homeowners are hoping to prevent flood damage from storm

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- City workers have spent the last several days preparing for the first substantial rainfall of 2017. Pumping water out of basins day and night for what's expected to an intense downpour this weekend.

Without the basins providing storage for storm water Fresno and Clovis would be more vulnerable to flooding. However, officials are keeping a close eye on the forecast.

"When you have three to four inches of capacity and you're expecting upwards of three inches it's a cause for concern, it puts you on alert," said Brent Sunamoto, Fresno Metro Flood Control District.

Sunamoto oversees 150 basins across Fresno and Clovis.

"You never know how the rain is going to come in. It could rain real heavy on one side of town and real light on the other side of town," said Sunamoto. "When these last series of storms hit we started pumping as soon as we could afterwards to get that water pumped out."

Thursday's break between storms allowed some Fresno residents to dig in for what is expected to be a wet weekend.

Homeowners can do their part-- most valley cities are offering sandbag relief to help prevent yards and homes from flooding.

At the Flood Control District crews are keeping basin levels low by diverting most of the water to county canals.

"Some of them we pump to other basins, so it just depends on the site. Most of it does end up in the canal system leaving town where they have basins west of the urban area, where they can divert the water to keep it for beneficial use."

Crews are expected to be busy pumping water through at least Monday.

If you need sandbags check your city's website for times of operation.