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<br /> <br />electronic rain gauges, stream gauges, and <br />computerized weather monitoring systems. <br />The purpose of this operation is to collect, <br />analyze, and display information about poten- <br />tial flooding in all of the Boulder County <br />drainage's and to relay that vital information <br />to local agencies charged with the safety of the <br />public. <br /> <br />In the case of Jamestown, localized public <br />responsibility for receiving and relaying flood <br />warnings from the MARS network falls di- <br />rectly upon the Jamestown Volunteer Fire <br />Department (JVFD). The key to success of any <br />flood warning system lies in a local, pre- <br />planned series of decisions and actions de- <br />signed to protect lives and reduce property <br />damage. In response, the Jamestown Fire <br />Chief, Tim O'Dair, formally initiated the first <br />Flood Evacuation Plan for the Town on July <br />29, 1989. <br /> <br />The Jamestown Flood Evacuation Plan <br />currently in place relies upon the Boulder <br />County MARS network to issue varying de- <br />grees of flood warning to the JVFD. If time <br />allows, citizens living in the floodplain will be <br />notified by a single phone call from designated <br />JVFD members. This phone call system is <br />made possible by the relatively small number <br />of persons living in high flood hazard areas <br />and is based upon the assumption that com- <br />munity residents will respond appropriately <br />to the notification. In the case of an immanent <br />flood emergency, the Jamestown Fire Hall <br />Siren will sound - on for 5 minutes and offfor <br />3 minutes for 30 minutes. <br /> <br />The Jamestown Elementary School on the <br />south side of James Creek will operate as an <br />incident command center. The Town Hall has <br />also been verified by the Red Cross as a poten- <br />tial evacuation site for citizens located on the <br />north side of the James Creek. These desig- <br />nated areas are meant to provide shelter only <br /> <br />if it does not require crossing floodwaters to <br />reach them - Do not attempt to cross water <br />that is more than knee deep in a flood <br />event! <br /> <br />Flood Mitigation Activities <br /> <br />Opportunities <br /> <br />There are many alternatives to reduce the <br />future impacts of flooding in Jamestown. <br />These include improved land use planning, <br />structural improvements, emergency prepar- <br />edness and flood warning, and increased pub- <br />lic awareness. <br /> <br />The Colorado Office of Emergency Manage- <br />ment has prepared this Flood Hazard Mitiga- <br />tion Plan with the intention of offering <br />concrete, realistic suggestions that the Town <br />of Jamestown can initiate to help mitigate the <br />flood hazard. Due to financial constraints, <br />however, some mitigation options contained <br />in this report will require Jamestown to re- <br />quest outside help for funding. Other mitiga- <br />tion alternative, such as increasing <br />emergency preparedness, creating a local <br />flood monitoring and warning system and <br />strengthening land use planning will require <br />limited outside funding and can be immedi- <br />ately implemented by the community. <br /> <br />The action opportunities presented in figure <br />15 are intended as starting points for con- <br />certed action and are designed to alleviate the <br />effects of future flood disasters in Jamestown. <br />They should not be considered as static end- <br />points. Rather, these action items can be, and <br />are intended to be, expanded in the future as <br />the needs of the community change and new <br />opportunities for the reduction of the flood <br />hazard arise. <br /> <br />13 <br />