A Boulder Creek flood mitigation project is moving forward, but it faces challenges with permitting and open space allocation. City staff need approval to make room on open space for a flood wall. Tim Drugan with Boulder Reporting Lab joined us to talk about the latest in a years-long saga.
Drugan told KUNC Boulder has the highest flood risk of any city in Colorado.
“This is both because of the many creeks and streams meandering through the city, but also because of how old Boulder is,” he said.
Much of Boulder was built before modern floodplain management. As a result, many Boulder homes and businesses were built where flooding is likely.
“The 2013 floods were really a kick in the pants for the city,” Drugan said. “It has since laid out some 37 projects costing more than $350 million that it hopes to complete in the next 30 years. And at the very top of that priority list is the flood mitigation project.”
City engineers have designed a plan that will detain floodwaters on South Boulder Creek before they're corralled downstream.
“And because detention is one of the most cost effective flood mitigation strategies, this project has one of the best bang for the buck of any slated to be coming to Boulder,” Drugan said. “It's estimated to protect some 2,500 residents in some 1,100 dwellings.”
Because part of the flood mitigation project is on open space land, the city's utility department needs the Open Space Board of Trustees and City Council to agree to dispose of the land. A formal request was put to the board in December.
“Several meetings will be held to deliberate on the topic, as is the case this Thursday,” Drugan told KUNC. “Tomorrow (Thursday, February 22) is a joint public hearing between City Council and the Open Space Board of Trustees, where city staff is going to present that they need 2.2 acres of open space permanently disposed of for the project, and then another 1.9 acres temporarily used during construction.”
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A final decision will not be made on Thursday. City Council and the Board of Trustees will be able to ask clarifying questions and the public will have time to comment.
“Opponents of this project say that the design is insufficient for flood risk that could increase with climate change,” Drugan said. “The project only protects against 100-year floods not 500-year floods that detractors call for.”
Deliberation will continue at future Board of Trustees meetings until March 13, when members will make their final judgment. On March 21, City Council will meet to decide. Colorado Department of Transportation staff have said that they are still on track to break ground on the project in 2024.
