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2012 High Park Fire &2013 Fort Collins Flood

Prepared by: Jill Oropeza, Watershed Program Manager & Mark Kempton, P.E., CFM, Stormwater Master

Planning Manager City of Fort Collins Utilities

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The High Park Wildfire

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Fort Collins Intake Facility

• June 9th – July 2nd, 2012• 87,000 acres burned• Mixed severity

4Photo Credit: Michael Menefee, CNHP

Altered Landscape

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Wildfires as precursors to floods

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Public Safety

Infrastructure

Aquatic Resources

Water Quality

Personal Property

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Emerging Best Practices

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NRCS - Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program

• Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

• City of Fort Collins• City of Greeley• Larimer County

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Water Treatment Operators

Operators, Watershed & Lab Staff

Early warning systems help avoid impacts

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Distributed Rain Gauge Network: Where are storms happening?

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Use of Social Media to spread information & alerts

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• Non-Profit 501c3• Board of Directors consists of local water

utilities, county, non-profits, academic institutions

• Focus on post-fire restoration, then forest health management

Build Coalitions

Benefits: • Leverages existing

programs and funding

• Holistic approach to watershed planning and management

• Well received by public; not political or governmental agency

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Foster collaboration between Utilities and research community

• Train staff to be familiar with wildfire & flooding issues and potential impacts on infrastructure & processes

• Share information - Community Forum

• Track and understand research that is happening in your watershed

• Articulate needs to scientific community

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Future Needs to Increase Resiliency

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Coordinated planning & funding for pre-fire forest management

• Patchwork of land ownership

• Differing abilities to implement projects based on: – available resources– regulatory

requirements– management

philosophiesBarriers to effective

risk mitigation!

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Develop and enhance prioritization tools for pre-fire mitigation & post-fire restoration

- Where to focus $$?

- What are best methods for restoration?

- For maintaining watershed health?

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Secure funding for post-fire response:

NRCS – Emergency Watershed Protection

• Enables local entities to begin reducing post-fire hazards associated with flooding and debris flows that impact private lands

• Funding was not secured until 8 months after HPF, after much negotiation and uncertainty in the US House and Senate

• A strong federal commitment will help communities respond and recover from disasters by acquiring adequate EWP funding in a timely manner

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Poudre River at Prospect Road-- September 13, 2013

• 50-year flood event on the Cache la Poudre River

• City sustained approx. $600k damage – mostly bank erosion – emerged relatively unscathed

• Presidentially declared disaster in Larimer County

• City declared a state of emergency

2013 Fort Collins Flood

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Flood Mitigation Techniques

• Floodplain Management• Property Acquisition• Master Planning• Capital Projects• Cooperation with local, State, and Federal

partners• Grant Programs

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1997 Spring Creek Flood• Greater than 500-year flood event on

Spring Creek• 5 people died, 200 homes destroyed,

1500 homes damaged• In response to flood;

Increased 100-year rainfall depths FEMA PDM grant to build several

detention ponds New stormwater master plan Increased stormwater fees for

capital projects Revised floodplain regulations

Spring Creek at College AvenueJuly 1997

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Floodplain Management

• Fort Collins floodplain regulations meet or exceed State and Federal regulations Elevate 2 feet above 100-year water surface Prohibit residential development and critical

facilities in the floodplain FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) – rating of

4 – in top 5% of communities in the nation New development – detain runoff to 2 year-event

pre-development condition• Effective floodplain management can be politically

difficult

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• Construction requirement = 2.0 ft above 100-year water surface elevation– Orthopedic Center of the Rockies– Neenan Construction– In-Situ Building

Floodplain MitigationMinimal Structural Damage

High water mark

Dry building entrance

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Property Acquisition

• Willing Buyer – Willing Seller Program – purchase flood prone properties

• Utilize FEMA and HUD Grant funds to acquire properties

• 67% of 100-year Poudre River Floodplain is City-owned Natural Areas

• Natural Areas allow for natural floodplain

functions public amenity prevent development in the

floodplain

Poudre River at Salyer Natural Area- September 13, 2013

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Cooperation with partners

• Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan – partner with Larimer County and Loveland, Estes Park, Wellington, and Berthoud

• State and FEMA funding pay for the plan• FEMA (HMGP) and HUD (CDBG) grant programs

to fund hazard mitigation projects• State of Colorado - OEM and CWCB very

proactive in assisting with identifying and mitigating hazards

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Potential Obstacles

• Federal, State, and local permits Section 404 of the Clean Water Act FEMA floodplain revisions State Historic Preservation Office Colorado Department of Public Health and

Environment – Dewatering permit Local environmental and floodplain regulations

• Funding – stormwater fees average $16 per household

• $150 million backlog in Stormwater projects

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Lessons learned/Recommendations• Mitigation pays – stormwater

capital projects worked as designed to prevent damage and loss of life

• Floodplain maps do not reflect erosion hazards – rivers can and will change course in a flood event

• Future condition flows in floodplain mapping – FEMA decision

• All hazards mapping• Continuously update maps• Public education regarding hazards

FEMA mapped flood hazard area

Constructed spill

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