BOARD01803

• Board Meeting Date: 1/24/2001
• Description: CF Section - Referred Non-Reimbursable Investments - Town of Holyoke - Frenchman Creek Feasibility Study
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

299

Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of N atul'aI Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

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MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

To:

Greg E. Walcher
Executive Director

Colorado Water Conservation Board
6 r:..----
Larry Lang, P.E., Chief, Flood Protection Section i--/'t;:/"'

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

From:

Date:

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

January 10, 2001

Re:

Agenda Item 15.d - January 24-25, 2001, CWCB Meeting
Water Project Planning and Finance
Referred Non-reimbursable Investments
Town of Holyoke - Frenchman Creek Feasibility Study

Backl!round
Tl1e City of Holyoke and portions of Phillips County experienced sigoiiicant flooding during the
early summer of 1997 when Frenchman Creek and some of its tributaries overflowed their banks.
Heavy thunderstol1lls dilmped up to 6 inches of rain in a short period of time. As a result of the
flood, the City and County took an active role in flood hazard mitigation by perfol1lling the
following activities along Frenchman Creek from 1998 to the present time: I) Major channel
cleaning and debris removal, 2) Tree trimming project and vegetation thinning in the floodplain,
3) Channel re-shaping for bridge capacity improvement, 4) Local siol1ll drainage master plan,
and 5) new topographic mapping for the floodplain area. The City and County, with the help of
several partners, have been extremely proactive with issues related to the Frenchman Creek
floodplain and have expended thousands of dollars of local funds. The City of Holyoke is now
requesting financial assistance from the CWCB to continue their mitigation efforts.

Studies in Pl"ol!ress
The U.S. Anny Corps of Engineers (Kansas City District), in cooperation with the Colorado
Water Conservation Board, the City of Holyoke, and Phillips County, is currently perfol1lling a
floodplain delineation study for portions of Frenchman Creek, North Fork Frenchman Creek, and
South Fork Frenchman Creek in Holyoke and adjacent areas of Phillips County. The Corps will
also provide reconnaissance-level project reconunendations to reduce the flood risks in the study
area.

Flood Protection. Water Project Planning and Financing" Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Consetvation Planning