FLOOD04322

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Stream Name: All
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Benefit-Cost Analysis for Urban Drainage Planning
• Date: 3/1/1974
• Prepared For: UDFCD
• Prepared By: CSU
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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- 9 -

Example Benefit-Cost Analysis

To illustrate the benefit-cost analysis methodology, a

step-by-step description of an actual project is presented.

The example is based upon the Little Dry Creek project located

in Douglas and Arapahoe Counties, Colorado, undertaken for the

Urban Drainage and Flood Control District by the firm of McCall-

Ellingson & Morrill Inc., consulting engineers, as assisted by

the firm of Lyon, Collins & Co., Inc., local governmental con-

sultants. This basin was chosen as a case study because of

the varied conditions encountered and the detail of the analysis

conducted. To broaden the scope of the example, certain ele-

ments and conditions not found in the Little Dry Creek basin

have been included. It must be emphasized that each project

will present a unique situation in terms of flood hydrology,

development characteristics, alternative solutions and other

features, therefore the step-by-step description must be con-

sidered as a guide to performing benefit-cost analysis and not

as a rigid formula. As in other portions of the urban drainage

master planning process, a significant degree of engineering

judgement is required to achieve an acceptable and realistic

solution.

Step 1 - Examine Area and Classify by Land Use

The following types of land use are typical:

~ Leonard Rice Consulting Water Engineers, Inc.