BOARD02101

• Board Meeting Date: 3/16/2004
• Description: Flood Section - Fountain Creek Watershed Study Presentation - El Paso, Pueblo and Teller Counties
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO

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Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natnral Resources
1313 Shennan Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

Russell George
Executive Director

TO:
FROM:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
Larry Lang, Chief, Flood Protection Program
Brian Hyde, Flood Protection Program
March 3, 2004
March 16 -17, 2004 CWCB Meeting
Agenda Item 8
Fountain Creek Watershed Study Presentation - EI Paso, Pueblo and Teller Counties

Rod Kuharich
CWCB Director

Dan McAuliffe
Deputy Director

DATE:
RE:

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Background
The CWCB is providing $300,000 in funding to the City of Colorado Springs toward the total project
cost of approximately $3,000,000 for the Fountain Creek Watershed Study. The study is being
performed by the Albuquerque District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is paying half
ofthe cost, and the local governments and two state agencies are paying the other half. The CWCB and
the Colorado Department of Local Affairs are each contributing $300,000. The remaining $900,000 of
"local share" is being provided by the three counties, five cities and three towns in the watershed.
Colorado Springs is serving as the primary sponsor of the study.

In 1999 flooding on Fountain Creek and many of its tributaries caused substantial erosion damage in
the Pikes Peak area and in the Pueblo area. The floodwaters entered the Arkansas River at Pueblo and
continued downstream to the east. In the La Junta area further damage occurred, particularly in the
unincorporated community of North La Junta. A Presidential Disaster Declaration was approved by
President Clinton which provided federal funds for recovery and mitigation efforts.

The 1999 flood was the most recent in a series of events that fostered awareness that there were serious
issues in the Fountain Creek watershed. As of 2000, the watershed was home to approximately 11 %
of Colorado's population, so this study is of statewide importance. The three critical processes
involved are flooding, erosion, and sedimentation. The impacts of those three processes are property
damage, infrastructure damage, loss of riparian habitat, and water quality degradation.

In November 2001, the Corps completed a Congressionally supported Reconnaissance Study which
concluded that there was a "federal interest" in pursuing a Watershed Study for Fountain Creek.
Congress provided support for the 50% federal share of the Watershed Study, and in the fall of2003
consultant proposals for assisting the Corps to conduct the study were submitted, reviewed and
evaluated. The URS-Colorado Springs office was the only applicant with a primary local staff

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Colorado Water ConselVation Board
Flood Protection. Water Supply Planning and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning