Laserfiche WebLink
<br />basis. This will increase the probability of sporadic overflows from the canals, which can <br />cause severe damage, particularly if an embankment fails. For this reason, separation of <br />drainage flows and irrigation flows should be considered for at least the lower frequency <br />events (Reference 1). <br /> <br />There is a levee on the right bank of the Cache La Poudre River upstream of Timberline <br />Road that blocks flows that previously split down the Cache La Poudre RPATH. There are <br />two irrigation dams on the North Fork Cache La Poudre River. The effect of the two dams <br />is considered negligible in the study area. There are no flood control structures that reduce <br />discharges on Buckhorn Creek, Redstone Creek, Fish Creek, Black Canyon Creek, or the <br />Fall River. <br /> <br />The Horsetooth and Dixon Reservoirs are two major reservoirs within the Spring Creek <br />basin. The Dixon Reservoir is located on the western edge of the basin immediately below <br />the hogback that impounds the Horsetooth Reservoir. The Dixon Reservoir intercepts and <br />stores runoff from approximately 250 acres of drainage area, making this area essentially <br />non-contributing to the Spring Creek channel. The Horsetooth Reservoir is owned by the <br />USBR and operated by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District. It was <br />completed in the early 1950s as a water-supply reservoir, but has also helped reduce <br />flooding problems in Spring Creek by reducing the tributary drainage area. The total <br />drainage area for Spring Creek is approximately 30 square miles. Downstream of the <br />Horsetooth Reservoir, the drainage area is approximately 12 square miles. The outlet <br />works for the Horsetooth Reservoir are located on the north end of the reservoir, <br />discharging to a water-supply canal. The outlet and canal are not within the boundaries of <br />the Spring Creek basin. Off-stream detention ponds are located throughout the Spring <br />Creek basin. In most cases, these ponds were designed to control local runoff and, in <br />general, appear to have little effect on flows along Spring Creek. However, the <br />Rossborough, Woodwest, Fairbrooke, and Colorado State University Animal Medical <br />Center ponds have relatively larger storage areas and may have some effect on flows in <br />Spring Creek. These ponds are controlled and operated by the City of Fort Collins for <br />flood-control purposes and were included in the hydrologic analyses. Additionally, several <br />man-made embankments for road and railroad crossings within the Spring Creek basin <br />result in some flood attenuation. These crossings include the Taft Hill Roadway, Overland <br />Trail Roadway, and Burlington Northern Railroad (BNRR) west of College Avenue, and <br />the Colorado and Southern Railroad (C&SRR) west of Timberline Road. These areas were <br />considered for detention in the hydrologic analysis. <br /> <br />The Town of Estes Park is replacing old bridges with bridges designed to avoid bridge <br />backwater by perching the new bridges above the channel. Flood flows spill from the <br />channel before water rises to the low chord of the bridge. The bridge does not create a <br />backwater hence, it does not increase the flood hazard. Future replacement of inadequate <br />bridges with these perched bridges will reduce flood potential in some areas. <br /> <br />Larimer County is providing some protection from floods through flood warning and <br />forecasting by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National <br />Weather Service. Also, the City of Fort Collins operates a flood warning system consisting <br />of over fifty gage sites that measure rain and/or water level. <br /> <br />18 <br />