FLOOD10331

• County: Weld
• Community: Wattenberg
• Stream Name: South Platte River
• Title: Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan, Wattenberg, Weld County, Colorado
• Date: 8/1/1996
• Prepared For: Wattenberg
• Prepared By: Kistner and Associates
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

W A lTENBERG, COLORADO FLOOD HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN

AUGUST 1996

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of Study

Colorado residents continue to lose
thousands of dollars in public and private
investment due to flooding each year.
Wattenberg, Colorado is a small Front
Range unincorporated community of Weld
County that is vulnerable to flooding. The
purpose of this Flood Hazard Mitigation
Plan is to identify and discuss critical flood
hazard issues faced by the community and to
present opportunities for concerted action. It
is a plan that seeks to accomplish two
specific goals: First, it brings together the
many diverse elements of flood hazard
research and floodplain analysis that have
been completed over the years for Weld
County and its major river basin, the South
Platte; Second, it provides specific flood
mitigation opportunities (structural and non-
structural) intended to reduce the severity of
future flood events in Wattenberg.

The Wattenberg Flood Hazard Mitigation
Plan has been prepared with the generous
help of many people including local
community members and County officials.
It will require the continued cooperation of
these individuals to ensure that the hazard
mitigation proposals presented in this plan
are carried through.

Scope of Study

This Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan is
focused primarily upon high flood areas
within the unincorporated limits of the
community of Wattenberg (See Figure I).
The hazard analysis is not, however, limited
to the floodplain of Wattenberg,
comprehensive mitigation studies must take
into account the geographic setting of the

community under investigation and the
larger region. Both short-term and long
term opportunities for Flood Hazard
Mitigation are considered.

Wattenberg Flood Vulnerability

The community of Wattenberg is vulnerable
to flooding, as it has been demonstrated in
the past - 1965, 1973 and 1985. During
these historic flood events, weather
conditions, topography, hydrology and
geography have combined to create
hazardous and damaging situations. It is
crucial, therefore, that Wattenberg take
steps, today, to lessen the effects of future
floods tomorrow. This can best be
accomplished through a combination of
increased community awareness, flood
preparedness and mitigation planning.

Effective flood mitigation planning relies
upon an assessment of the natural and
physical environment along with the

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Figure 1