Flood Management

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* Boulder Creek Flow Rates *

• Boulder Creek Camera - see live images of Boulder Creek near the Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway
• Boulder Office of Emergency Management - visit this site during a flood event to learn the most up-to-date information about area flooding and what to do.
• Boulder's Natural Hazards

  View the City of Boulder Flood Safety Brochure

• Flood Insurance
• Flood Mitigation Projects
• Floodplain Benefits and Development
• Floodplain Development Permit
• Floodplain Information Request
• Floodplain Maps
• Flood/Stormwater Plan
• Flood Preparedness
  • Before a Flood
  • During a Flood
  • After a Flood
• Flood Information Links

•  2011 informational Boulder Flood Safety Brochure

IN A FLASH!

Flash Floods can literally occur IN A FLASH during a severe storm. If you live, work or play in Boulder, you are at risk. The City of Boulder is the #1 flash flood risk in the state of Colorado. This is due to the city's location at the mouth of Boulder Canyon and the number of people who live and work in the Boulder Creek floodplain. Other drainage basins in Boulder are vulnerable to flash flooding, as well. Keep track of the weather around you and know the dangers.

The City of Boulder flood management program has been in place for over 30 years.  The program has been effective in mapping floodplains, regulating development activities in floodplains,adopting a master plan to address and mitigate flood hazards, and creating a Stormwater and Flood Management Utility to fund ongoing flood management programs.  The city joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) on July 11, 1978, offering federally-subsidized flood insurance to all residents.

The flood management program works to reduce flood hazards, adopt floodplain policies, map floodplains, develop master plans for floodplains, regulate floodplain activities, prepare for flood events, educate the public on floods and floodplains, and mitigate flood potential.

Local guiding principles for flood management include:

1. Preserve Floodplains - where possible, to recognize the beneficial functions of floodplains for hazard reduction, water quality enhancement, wetland protection, wildlife habitat, riparian corridors, recreation, alternate modes of travel, environmental relief, aesthetics and greenway areas.
2. Be Prepared for Floods - by developing advanced floodplain mapping, detailed risk assessments, enhanced early warning systems, multiple emergency notification measures, understandable response plans, workable recovery plans and ongoing storm monitoring.
3. Help People Protect Themselves from Flood Hazards - through public interaction and involvement, readily available flood information, community outreach and education, self-help measures, floodproofing options, affordable flood insurance, and emergency preparedness.
4. Prevent Adverse Impacts and Unwise Uses in the Floodplain - through appropriate regulation and land use, open land preservation and acquisition, multi-objective planning, relocation or elimination of high hazard structures, prohibiting unacceptable encroachments and establishing ongoing maintenance practices that preserve and enhance environmental functions.
5. Seek to Accommodate Floods, Not to Control Them - through planned and monitored system maintenance, nonstructural floodproofing, opening non-containment corridors, overbank land shaping to train flood waters and limited structural (channelization) measures at constrained locations or where no alternatives are available.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 05 October 2011 11:49