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In Fl&ces these hailstones lay in banks several feet in depth. CURRENT FLOOD SlTUATIO~ Old timcrs say that no s~ch stor~ hes occurred i~ this section of n.e state in year.. It is rather diUi. cult to estimate the ~mour.t of d~m~ge~ sustained, but it is certainly more than our readers have any idea... Intrinsic value of property de~troyecl ~y nat he .0 much but it m\lst be remembered that many of the.. . features cannot be well spared at a resort ~o popular as Manitou... . . . Devalopments in the Flood ~lains ~late 2 is an index ~ap for ~lates 3 throuqt 8 which show tte study area limits and flood plains considered in this report. The flood plains are narrow with extensive developments of to~es. retail b~sinesses, industries, mobile home parks, and tourist attrac. tions and ~acilities. Many of these urban improvements encroach on the streams. In thernain business district of Hanitou Sprir.gs, a wide variety of businesses have been established on the banks of the streams and, in many instances, over the streams. ~anieou Springs' city hall and fire station are located on Fountain Creek's right bank at tte corner of Manitou Avenue and El Paso Boulevard. Other major facilities located in the Fountain Creek flood plain are the Red Rock Shopping Center and the El ~aso CO\lnty Co~munity COllega. Transportation facilities within the flood plains include portions of U.S. Highway 24 and 24 By-~ass {~idland Expres~'~y), along wit:lr.=.erous c:ity streets. Mavll,194? According to the Colorado Springs Ga~ette-relegrarn: "Cloudburst in lite Pass, Waldo Canyon, ~nd Williams Canyon early Saturday night sent a torrent of water through Manitou Springs... doing a large amount of damaqe to streets and bridges." ^waveof water descended on the town from Ute Pas~, it carried away a number of small wooden bridges. The stream overfl~wed the ba~ks in places and water was soon running curb high in ~anitou Avenue. At a number of places it spre~d over the sidewalks a~d flowed into basement& of business est...blishments. ...cotta"e camps on low ground in .....st M.>.nitou Springs and w~st Color..Jo Springs were flooded...the small bridges wa$~d 0\110 in M..nitou springs were carried downstream...they piled up before a bridge...the daM of bridges broke away and passing under the bridge, tearing SONe large trees as they did... Greenwich Village and Cottonwood Ca~ps were cOV<lred with from six inches to two feet of water.. .bri<tges on 21st .and 30th Streets,,'ashedout...8th Street bridge in pr<>carious c on- dition...rnanymotoristsevacuated...gasmainsbroKe...waterand electrical services interrupted...estirl'..;l.tedda,""ges inc"ces sof $100,000 for streets, bridges, and roads. Manitou Spring~' fire chief...said it was the worst flood he had witnessed in 21 years. Obstr\lctions tc flaodflows Obstructions, natural and man-made, within th~ flcodw"ys, imp"de floodflows, cr"at1ngbackwater and increased heights. oebris washinq downstream d\lring floods often collect against bridqes or within restricted flow areas, reducing the ~terway openings and impeding the flood flow. This creates a damming effect and, depend- ing on the deqree of clogging, causes greater backwater depths with increased overbank flooJing. Water pressure on embankment~ and bridges can result in stress darna~e ar total destruction of the structure involved. A Fronounced increase in flaw velocities usually occurs downstream fro," obstructions, thus increasing the flood's damage potential. ~atural obstructions to floodflow occur throughout the flood plain~ where trees, br\lsh. and other vegetation encroach , "