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Last modified
1/25/2010 7:08:54 PM
Creation date
10/5/2006 2:13:57 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Floodplain Documents
County
Statewide
Basin
Statewide
Title
1990 Statewide Flood Summaries
Date
1/1/1990
Prepared For
State of Co
Prepared By
CWCB
Floodplain - Doc Type
Flood Documentation Report
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<br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />Flood Control and Floodplain Management Section <br /> <br />FLOODS IN COLORADO DURING 1989 <br /> <br />compiled by <br /> <br />William P. Stanton, P.E. <br /> <br />Between 20 and 30 floods occur somewhere in Colorado <br />every year. On the average, floods in Colorado result in <br />damages of $14.7 million per year. The 1989 flood season <br />included a wide variety of types of floods. Furthermore, <br />most floods in 1989 happened on a weekend or a holiday thus <br />continuing the unusual historical trend. <br /> <br />Two ice jams formed on the plains early in the year. <br />Rapidly melting snow in March made a mess of some towns <br />without adequate drainage systems. A few irrigation <br />structures failed causing floods. Artificial barriers for <br />railroad embankments, highways, and ditches channeled storm <br />water runoff into populated areas. A most unusual flood <br />sprang up in Rico when an old mine filled with water. <br /> <br />The 1989 thunderstorm season began in ernest on June 3 <br />in the Denver metro area. Floods made no distinction between <br />rich or poor as residents were evacuated from mobile home <br />parks and exclusive residential neighborhoods. On June 24, <br />1989, parts of northeast Colorado were hit by heavy rain and <br />baseball sized hail. <br /> <br />The last weekend in July was the state's busiest time <br />for floods. A major storm system extended across the middle <br />of the state. A couple of unhappy campers at Maroon Lake <br />Campground were surprised by a mudflow which wiped out their <br />campsite. Over 8 inches of rain fell in less than 18 hours <br />in an area northeast of Greeley. Perhaps the most damaging <br />flood occured on July 30 at a town called Paoli where people <br />and FEMA believed floods could not happen. Logan county <br />suffered approximately $578,000 in flood related damages. <br />The next day, truckers driving east of Gunnison were hit <br />broadside by a 4 foot wall of water and knocked off the <br />road. <br /> <br />The failure of a small beaver dam in August made <br />officials issue a flash flood warning for Manitou Springs. <br />Although people were evacuated, the flood was insignificant <br />by the time it reached the city. Heavy rain over the burned <br />forest on Sugar Loaf Mountain near Boulder showed the <br />importance of vegetation in flood hydrology. <br /> <br />The CWCB has compiled a chronology of floods in <br />Colorado during 1989. Any person desiring more details or <br />who has additional information to contribute should contact <br />the CWCB. <br />
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