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<br />CHAPTER T. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />An intense rainstorm on July 24, 1977, produced debris fI.ows and damage <br /> <br />to property in the southern part of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Overall <br /> <br />property damage and cost of clean up wa,,' estimated to be approximately <br /> <br />$2,000,000, primarily to private residences and public facilities. Remarkably, <br /> <br />there were no injuries dur'lng the flows. <br /> <br />Processes such as those recently observed 10 Glenwood Springs are <br /> <br />variously termed "floods," lImudslidf~S," llmudflows," or IIdebris flows,lI <br /> <br />The latter term, debris flow, is used in this study because the process <br /> <br />involves a V1SCQllS, flowing mixture of mud, water, boulders, other granular <br /> <br />solids, and organic debris. Although a debris flow contains a far greater <br /> <br />volume of solid material than typical flood waters, it does not slide as <br /> <br />a rigid body. Thus the term "slide" is incorrect and will not be used. <br /> <br />The debris-flow process is not well understood and ha.s rarely been studied <br /> <br />10 detail. However, it 1S known that fl.Ov;r dynamics and ability to transport <br /> <br />large boulders differ greatly from water floods of similar discharges. <br /> <br />Geologists have long been aW.1re that any mitigation methods which treat <br /> <br />the process as if it were a flood would probably be ineffective. Some insight <br /> <br />into the dynamics of the debris-flow process can be gained from this eyewitness <br /> <br />account, as reported >n the July 27,1977, issue of The Free ~~eeklz Newspaper, <br /> <br />Glenwood Springs: <br /> <br />- 2 - <br />