How did Porterville, where a then raging Tule River cuts through the town, stay dry while so many other San Joaquin Valley communities got flooded out last spring? Planning, coordination and permits. Sounds simple, but it took officials from the city, irrigation district, Tulare County and federal offices years to establish. It paid off as the small south San Joaquin Valley town stood out among many of its neighboring communities for staying mostly dry. … Because of past floods, city staff knew the importance of routine and preventative maintenance and did “extensive” preparation cleaning out all drainage systems in the city and making sure everything was functioning properly leading up to the storms this year, said Knight. They also set up sandbags ahead of time.