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<br />2.4 <br /> <br />damage and one person was killed in Williams Canyon. Hailstones <br />were found to be 11 inches in circumference (Reference 3). <br /> <br />In May 1894, a rainstorm of several days duration caused flooding <br />in the area; however, flood heights were not as high as they could <br />have been had much of the precipitation not fallen as snow. Fountain <br />Creek, Ruxton Creek, and Williams Canyon all flooded. Canon Avenue <br />was described as a mountain torrent with hundreds of tons of rock <br />washing down (Reference 4). <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />A cloudburst over Williams and Waldo Canyons in May 1947, caused <br />flooding on Williams Canyon and Fountain Cree!k. Many small br idges <br />were washed out, and the debris created dams that eventually broke <br />and caused further damage (Reference 3). <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />A correlation between the elevations of previous floods and the <br />elevations of possible future floods as prese!nted in this study <br />is difficult to determine because of changes in the stream channels <br />as a result of high flows and subsequent deve!lopment. At Fountain, <br />Colorado, approximately 25 miles downstream from Manitou Springs, <br />a 40-foot-long bridge spanning Fountain Creek. was washed out in <br />a flood in 1902 and was replaced by one 70 fe!et long. Succeeding <br />floods have widened the channel even more so that the bridge span <br />now exceeds 200 feet. Due to the changing channel capacities, <br />an estimate of the recurrence intervals of palst floods would not <br />be valid (Reference 4). Photographs of potential flooding at <br />Manitou Springs are shown in Figures 2 and 3. <br /> <br />Flood Protection Measures <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />The flood-carrying capacity of the streams has been increased <br />through channelization in many areas. For this to be an effective <br />flood protection measure, the entire stream length in flood-prone <br />areas must be channelized to the extent necessary to carry low- <br />frequency flows. Because this is not the case in Manitou Springs, <br />the channelization that exists is not sufficient to protect the <br />city from floods of the selected recurrence intervals in all areas. <br /> <br />The city has enacted ordinances that are directed at the reduction <br />of flood hazard. These ordinances specify that drainage be designed <br />to reduce exposure to flood hazard and not to subject other property <br />to flood hazard and that new construction be reasonably safe from <br />flooding. The city also requires that new and replacement water- <br />supply and sanitary sewage systems be designE~d to minimize or <br />eliminate infiltration of floodwaters. <br /> <br />There are no structural means of flood protection, such as dams <br />or levees, in the city. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />6 <br />