PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (CO) Flood event

Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 17:03:42 EDT

Summary: Flash flood in Manitou Springs, Colorado

On Friday, August 9, 2013, runoff from about 1.5 inches of rain falling on the Waldo Canyon wildfire burned area caused Fountain Creek to overflow its banks and flow down State Highway 24 and through the town of Manitou Springs, about 6.5 miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado. One person was killed, six houses were destroyed, and more than 30 were damaged. A USGS crew obtained a water-quality sample Friday night about 2 miles downstream from Manitou Springs at USGS gage 07103700 Fountain Creek near Colorado Springs. The gage stage sensor became inoperable during the event after being buried in sediment. To prevent this from happening again, the USGS is planning to install a non-contact stage sensor at the gage. Today, USGS crews flagged high-water-marks at the gage in preparation of calculating the peak discharge for the event using survey techniques. The USGS will be meeting with the Colorado Department of Transportation this week to discuss data needs for on-going modeling work of debris flows on the Waldo Canyon Burn Scar. The USGS operates ten real-time precipitation gages in the vicinity of the burn scar (http://co.water.usgs.gov/infodata/COPrecip/index.html).

Sub-Region: Mountain West; Region: