FLOOD00377

• County: Clear Creek
• Community: Silver Plume
• Title: Flood Insurance Study - Town of Silver Plume
• Date: 6/6/2001
• Prepared For: Silver Plume
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Contract/PO #: &&
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

The results of the restudy were reviewed at the final Consultation Coordination Officer
meeting held on June 22, 2000, and attended by representatives of FEMA, the State of
Colorado, and the Town of Silver Plume, Colorado. All problems raised at that meeting
have been addressed in this study.

2.0 AREA STUDIED

2.1 Scope of Study

This Flood Insurance Study covers the incorporated areas of the Town of Silver Plume,
Clear Creek County, Colorado.

The areas studied by detailed methods were selected with priority given to all known flood
hazards and areas of projected development or proposed construction through 1982.

2.2 Community Description

Silver Plume is in central Clear Creek County, approximately 40 miles west of Denver,
Colorado, and 10 miles east of the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains.

In 1970, the populations of Silver Plume and Clear Creek County were 189 and 4,780,
respectively (Reference I). The 1998 populations were 156 and 9,001, respectively
(Reference 2). A steady growth was expected for the county in the foreseeable future.
However, the population of Silver Plume has declined between 1970 and 1998.

Clear Creek drains approximately 45 square miles of mountainous watershed above Silver
Plume. Watershed elevations range from 14,270 feet atop Gray's Peak at the Continental
Divide to approximately 9,100 feet at Silver Plume.

Climatic conditions are characteristic of a high-altitude, dry-continental climate. Although
there are no weather records for Silver Plume, 18 years of recorded temperatures at
nearby Georgetown indicate a record high of approximately 92 degrees Fahrenheit (OF),
a record low of -260F, and an average annual temperature of 43.50F (Reference 3). The
average annual precipitation in the higher altitudes is in excess of 35 inches; at
Georgetown, it is approximately 16.2 inches.

Vegetation varies throughout the Clear Creek watershed. In areas above timberline there
are many rock outcroppings, and the steep mountain slopes are practically void of
vegetation. In woodland areas, aspen, spruce, and pine trees predominate.

Because of the steep mountain slopes and narrow valleys in Clear Creek County.
development has occurred near the streams and often within the floodplain. City street,
state highways. and interstate streams cross the floodplains and often constrict the
free-flowing streams with bridges and embankments. Continuing development within the
original study area is expected, and pressures leading to intensified floodplain use will
probably accompany such development.

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