Flood Mitigation Plan Annual Review - September 2008

One of the requirements to receive credit under FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) is an annual review of the City of Fort Collins Flood Mitigation Plan. This plan is included as Appendix D of the Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan and can be obtained by contacting the Office of Emergency Management at (970) 416-2878 or the Fort Collins Utilities at (970) 224-6036.

Review of City-Wide Strategies

• The City’s drainage system maintenance program continues.
• The City’s regulatory programs (stormwater management, floodplain management, water quality, and sediment and erosion control) continue.
• The City sponsored Flood Awareness Week in July 2008. Mailers were sent to all floodplain residents and property owners, as well as to Realtors, lenders and insurance agents. Displays containing flood information were available the Customer Service Division, two libraries and Fort Collins Utilities. Videos regarding flooding and preparedness were shown on Cable 14 in July and August. Signs on bus benches, warning of the dangers of driving through flood water, were placed at numerous locations around town. Banners also were hung on various light poles advertising Flood Awareness Week.
• The City continues to offer free technical assistance for property protection as well as information on flood insurance, emergency preparedness, etc.
• The City provides free floodplain determinations and maintains a Web site offering the floodplain maps in an interactive format. The City’s Web site continues to be updated regularly.
• Open space continues to be preserved by the City’s Natural Resources Department.
• Council initiated a contract with Colorado State University to review Water Quality Best Management Practices.
• The City’s Flood Warning System continues to be operated and maintained. Streamflow and rain gauges located throughout Fort Collins are tested annually. The annual on-call meeting between the Office of Emergency Management and the on-call Stormwater staff was held April 10. A comprehensive tabletop exercise between the Office of Emergency Management, on-call Stormwater staff, field crews and City Public Information Officers was held May 28.
• A new emergency notification system was purchased in August. This system not only reaches hardwired phones, but users can also opt-in to have notifications sent to pagers, cell phones, e-mail, text messages and voice-over-internet. It is anticipated that the floodplain maps will be loaded into the new system to aid in defining areas to be notified in the event of a flood.
• A new public outreach video on the City’s floodwarning system is being produced and will be ready for the 2009 flood season.

Drainage Basin Specific Strategies

• The $10 million Dry Creek Flood Control Project was completed in 2006, significantly reducing flooding in the Dry Creek basin. A Physical Map Revision was submitted to FEMA in January 2007, and the new maps became effective on June 17. Unfortunately, the City is still waiting for the digital data from FEMA in order to update the floodplain maps shown on the Web site.
• Construction was completed on four projects in the Spring Creek Basin. These projects are funded in part by a $2.7 million FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant. They included construction of three detention ponds and stabilization of the Burlington Northern Railroad Embankment. A Physical Map Revision is expected to be submitted to FEMA in late 2008 or early 2009.
• A bank stabilization and series of controlled spills from the Poudre River near Riverbend Ponds was completed in 2008. This was a joint project between the Stormwater, Natural Resources and Engineering Departments. A Letter of Map Revision reflecting the changes to the floodplain mapping for this project and the improvements made by Engineering to Prospect Road will be submitted to FEMA for approval in late 2008.
• The Canal Importation Ponds and Outfall (CIPO) project is under construction in west Fort Collins. This stormwater mitigation project incorporates a detention pond and storm sewers.
• Construction on the Trilby Road and railroad culvert improvement project on Fossil Creek is complete. The map revision will be complete in late 2008.
• A project in the Dry Creek Basin to reduce local drainage problems in the North College Avenue area started design in 2006 and continues to date.
• The Upper Cooper Slough Drainage Master Plan and Boxelder Regional Drainage Master Plan and Intergovernmental Agreement were approved by Council in 2008. These master plans provide:
  • Proposed projects to reduce flood damages;
  • Guidance for new development;
  • Guidance for enhancements to the riparian habitat along stream corridors;
  • Proposed improvements to water quality; and
  • Guidance for stabilizing streams when necessary.

Funding

The stormwater funding strategy updated by City Council in 2005 has not changed. The current plan is a 35-year financing plan.

Plan Update

The Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, including the Fort Collins Flood Mitigation Plan, will be updated in 2009.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Marsha Hilmes-Robinson at (970) 224-6036, or (970) 224-6003.