FLOOD09765

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Index of Flood Maps Through 1973, Front Range Urban Corridor, Environmental Geologic & Hydrologic Studies: Map I-857-C
• Date: 1/1/1975
• Prepared By: USGS
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Drawing/Map

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UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

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DISCUSSION
The rapid gro.....th of population in the Front Ran~e Urban Corridol
of Colorado is causing inll,'nse competjtion for available land r esources.
One form of competition posing selious problems is unregulated devel-
opment along natural waterCourses. Flood plains are developed by
streams (0 carry Watel in exceSll of channel capacity. Although not
occupied by tlowing ....ater u often, the flood plain is as much a pari of
the stream system n the channel. Where man's needs compelI' with the
naturalfunctionofa noodplain he must inevitably pay a price through
property damage and suffering. Flood damages in the United States
have been estimated to average Sl billion annually (American Public
Works A'lSOCialion, 1966). This waste of national ruources is borne
not only by thosecilizensindirectcontactwithfloodsbutalsotoa
lesser degree by all citizens through increased cost of public service-s.
Thus, floods create porblems for the entire community and solutions to
exisring or potential problems area community efforl.
F]ood-plain inundation can be regarded as a temporary use of the
land by a stream: thcrefote,dfective management of flood plains is
commonly an integral obj<<1ive of good urban planning. Common pro-
cedures of flood1']ain management are flood-plain lOning, cOII~truction
of flood-<:ontrol facilities, and flood-proofing of buildingS. A combina-
tion of these procedures may alleviate or minimize flood damage in
many flood-prone area~,but for Olller~ a ~ingle procedure may suffice.
Regardless of the proce~ure used. flood-plain managemenl in an urban-
ilingarea is a complex eIldeavor requiring adequate and current indentj-
ficalion of areas subject to flooding.
This map (fi~. I) depicts a broad-scale view of l1ood-prone areas a-
long principal stteams in the Colorado Springs-Castle Rock area of the
urban corridor. Because of its small scale, the map i~ primarily an index
to more detailed sources of flood-plain information. Planners, designers,
and developers may C"onsult Ihe reference material for detailed flood in-
formation in theit panicular area of interest. 11ti~mapisanaid to
Ill000e authorities in whom the responsibility for flood-plain zoning and
regulation is vesled.

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FIGURE I.-Map sho....ina: l1ood.prone areas. Colorado Springs-Castle Rock
area, Fronl Range Urban Corridor Colorado.
F1ood.prone areas are mapped on Ihe U.S. GeotoJical Survey 7.'10 minute
quadranlln indkated above.
A. Map of flood.prone areB published by U.S. Geotogical Survey in t970.
B. Map of nood.prone area published by U.S. Geological Survey in t973.
C. Hood.prone areu not delineated belc.use of large map contour inter.
v.ts and loeationsofstreams in narrOW canyon reaches.
P. ~lood plain information report by U.S. Army Corps of Engine"n
available forselecled streams on map.
Hood-prone areas identified on this map are ~ubject to inundation
by the 1 ClO-year flood, a flood having a I-percent chance of being
equaledorexceededinanygi~nyear. The magnitude and deplh of
this referl'nce flood were derived for streams in the study area from
streamflow records and reports of the U.S. Goological Sur~y and from
teports of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineerli. Reports of the Geological
Sur~yincludeaseriesof7Y,-minutetopo~aphicquadran~lessho""ing
areas along principal streams lhat are subject to inundation by the 100-
ytar flood. Some of these maps ....ere prepated under a project ""ith the
Federal Insurance Adminislration of the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban De~lopment to meet provisions of the Sational Flood ]nsur-
ance Act of 1968. Upon completion, these maps are published and are
available for distribution to the public. The U.S. Corps of Engineers re-
porls contain detailed flood-plain information for selected stream~. in.
eluding maps of inundated areas. flood and streambed profiles, and
stream cros.s~tions. Current status of flood.prone area IlllIPS and flood-
plaininfotmation reports for thl'sludy area is indicated in the diagram
near the lower right corner of this map. The studi.... are referenced else-
whereinlhisrepott.
Other sources of flood plain information for Ihe study are3 are the
city of Colorado Sprin811l>epartment of Public Works and the U.S. Soil
ConSl;"rvalion Service. Reports available from the city of Colorado
Sprin811 contain comprehensi~ !lood..drainage pl.1ns for several areas
within the city. The U.S. Soil Conservation Servi<.-e recently completeu
a nnod study of Sand Creek in northwestern EI Pa$O County (U.S. Soil
Conserv. Service. 1973) and I similar study for Jimmy Camp Creek is
planned for the near {uture.
The flood information utilized for this study represents unobstruct-
ed conditions of existing channels and draina8estructure~. Alteration
of the existing conditions by man or by debrjsaccumulationcanchan~e
the flood boundaries and cau5l' damage to adjacent property. Also, the
ma~nitude and depth of Ihe reference!lood are subject (0 change as the
upstream parts ofa basin ue converted to more intensive land uses;
therefore, future basin dc~lopment should be considered in flood"'Plain
mana~mentstudies.
The flood-prone areas are sho....n on the map IS blue pattern along
the principal streams. The flood-prone areas based on U.S. Geological
Survey studies ate shown as dark blue pattern aml the areas based on
U.S. COtpS of Engineers reports are shown as light blue pailI'm. Be-
cause of the small map scale, areas subject to flooding along some
streams could not be shown. A solid blue line along a !itream indicates
thai mOTe detailed flood information is ayailable in referenced reports.
Streams in the western part of the study area are confined to narrow
canyon~ that have steep streambed slopes. Limils of flood1'rone areas
along these streams roughly coincide with the channel banks except in
arelSupstream from bridges or other constrictiO'1sin the channel.
Many of these structures would be overtopped by the IClO-year flood,
and the depth of flooding urstream would be slightly higher than the
maximum height of the structures. Depths of the lOO-year flood alung
the unobstructed canyon teaches would a~rage about 5 feet (1.5 m)
above Ihe streambed based on an analysis of stteamflo.... record, for
gaging station~ in the area. The IOO-year flood ucpths generally range
from 3 feet (0.9 mlfora lO-square'"fllile (26-km'j basin to II f~t(3.4
m) for a I,()()()..square;nile (2,590-km') b;!sin. Although flood depths
are generally shaUo...., stream velocities....ould be rast and could damal!t'
structures close to the banks. Streams along the canyon rl'ach,'s for -
which the above informalion applie' are shown by dashed blue line son
the map.
In addition to the areas subject to inundation a]ong principal
streams, other areas are also subject to periodic nooding. llteseareas
indudenumerousravinesthatexperienl.'eshallowl1owsduringntra-
ordinaty runoff and many flat, low-lying areas where water is ponded
during periods of rainfall or snowmelt. Also, during flood periods, de-
bris may accumulate upstream from drainage structures, cau~ing a re-
duction in flow capacity of the waterway. Such debris can cause in-
creased upstream flood depths and extremely swift velocities near the
streambe-d.lnextremecases,drainagestructuresCD.nbeseverelydam-
aged or destroyed. Other deuructive processes lhal commonly accom-
pany rllre floods ate lands1iding and mudnowage along steeply sloping
terrain. These prlX-esses are often triggered by excessive wening of the
ground and by scour ofstabitizing material from the base of slopes.
Identification of areas where theabove-<lescribedflood-related proc-
esses occur is beyond the scope of this report. Nonelheless,adetailed
analysis of each process isan integral part of plans for extensive land
de~lopment.

SElECTED REFERENCES

American Public Works Association, 1966, Urban drainage practices,
procedures, and needs: Chicago, Ill., Am. Public Works Auoc.
Research Found. Special Rep!. No. 31.
Anna, L 0.,1975, Map showing availability of hydrologic dala pub-
lishedbythe U.S. IOnvironmental Data Service and by the U.S.
Geological Survey and cooperating agencies, Colorado Springs-
Castle Rod Area, Front Range Urban Corridot, Colorado: U.S.
Geol. Survey Misc. Iny. Series Map 1-857-<:.
Follansbee, Robert. and Sawyer, L. R_, 1948, Floods in Colorado: U.S.
Geol. Survey Watet-Supply Papet997, 151 p.
Patterson,J. L.. 1964,Maa:llitudeand frequency of tloods in the United
Slates; Pari 7, Lower Missis.~ippi River basin: U.S. Geol. Survey
Watrr-SupplyPaper 16111, 636 1'., 20 figs. I pl.
U.S, Army Corps of En!lineers. 1971, Flood vlain information,
Monument Creek, Colorado Springs, Colotado: U.S. Almy
Corps_ Engn., Albuquerque. New Mexic<-" 42 po, 9 figs., 13 1']5.
_1973, Hood plain information, Fountain and Jimmy Camp Creeks.
Colorado Springs-Fountain, E1 Pasu County, Colorado: U.S. Army
Corps Engn., Albuquerque, New Mexico, 47 p., 9 figs., 611'1.
U.S. Geological Survey, 1970, ~lap or flood-prone area, Colorado
Sprinp quadrangle, EI Paso County, Colorado: U.S. Geol Survey
Open-nil' map.
U.S. Geological Survey, 1973, Map of flood1'rone area IColoradol:
U.S. Geol. Survey open-fill' maps. Castle Ro~k South quadrangle,
Douglas County: Dawson Butte quadtangle, Douglas County:
EJsml!re quadrangle, EJ Pa'lO County: Falcon NW quadrangle, El
Paso County; Greenland quadrangle. Douglas and EJ Paso Counlies:
Larkspurquadrang]e, Douglas and II p<lSQCounties;Manitou
Sptings quadrangle, 1:1 Paso and Teller Counties, Monument quad"
rangle, U Paso County; Palmer Lake quadrangle. E1 Paso County:
Pikeviewquadrangle, FJ Paso County.
U.S. Soil Conservation Setvice, 1973, '.lood hazard analyses. &and
Creek: U.S. Dept. of Agricultute, Soil Conservation Service.

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MAP SHOWING AREA OF FRONT R,4.NGE URBA~ CORRIDOR

B:isecompiled by U.S. Geololtical Survey in
1972 rrom 1 :24.000 quadrangles dated 1954-1966.
umitedrnisionhom aerilll photographs taken
1969

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MISCELLANEOUS INVESTIGATIONS SERIES
COLORAIlO SPRINGS-CASTLE ROCK AREA, COLO,
MAP 1-857-C

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EXPLANATION

SCALE 1:1 00 000

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!1ood-ptone area along principal stream based on $tudy by U.S.
Geological Survey
flood"flwne area along prindpal stream based on study by U.S.
Atmy Corps of Engineers

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5000

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20 000

5MIlES
2!i_POOFEET

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4 5KllOMETRES
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DATUM IS MEAN SEA LEVEL

Flood-prone area delineated on 7y,..minute topographic quad-
rangle-width not shown because of small map scale

MAP SHOWING FLOOD-PRONE AREAS, COLORADO SPRINGS-CASTLE ROCK AREA, FRONT RANGE URBAN CORRIDOR, COLORADO

_____ Flood-prone area not delineated on 7YHninute topographic quad-
rangle because of narrow canyon reach

By
Jerald F, McCain and W, R. Hotchkiss
1975

For..I,by U,S. G.ulOlljc.IS..r~.v
o.'w.... Colo. 80225 'nd Rnlon. Va. 22092. price 15 cenfl
(tU.s. GOVUNMlNT PRINlI"!G Of'IC(, 19'$-6.l'7.).w/s