Manitou Springs’ Journey Towards Flood Resilience
The Takeaways
Residents will feel disaster fatigue, the case for resiliency needs to be strong so that the work that needs to be done can be done.
Ensure resilience is incorporated into all planning efforts.
Have a plan in place for how your community will provide the match for grant funding.
Manitou Springs Flooding the Worst in Decades
“After the first major flood, we spent a good three days over at the Manitou Arts Center just seeing one person after another. We were just trying to give them information on very immediate help — if they needed a place to stay, if they needed some money. I had whole days of people sitting down and crying in front of me. That’s something I’ll carry with me. And there was only so much I could do.”
The Case Study
The Waldo Canyon fire started on June 23, 2012, west of Colorado Springs in the Pike National Forest during a severe drought year. The fire triggered the evacuation of 32,000 people from Manitou Springs, West Colorado Springs, and other communities along Ute Pass (Highway 24). While the fire did not reach Manitou Springs, it left behind a denuded, 18,000-acre burn scar that would continue to funnel debris and sediment into a series of canyons and watercourses that lead into Manitou and west Colorado Springs.
In August 2013, the first major post-fire flood washed debris, massive boulders, and mud into Manitou Springs. Mud and fast-moving water rushed down Highway 24, killing one driver and washing cars off the road. This flood was the first of many over the years for Manitou, all of which eventually forced several local businesses to close or permanently relocate. The City’s planning department served as the Emergency Response team during these disruptive events and was quickly overwhelmed trying to manage the City’s recovery without a plan in place, nor a plan for how to come up with match funds for the grant money they received.
Eventually, FEMA required the City to develop a compliant Comprehensive Plan to continue receiving grant funds, so the City hired an additional Planner to help complete the Planning for Hazards project. The City now has a continuity of operations plan that will serve them in the event of future disruption. The community has felt some “disaster fatigue” over the years, but Senior Planner Michelle Anthony says it’s important to continue working on resiliency every year so that the City can better withstand the next disaster.
Want more information?
Plan Manitou: Community Master Plan & Hazard Mitigation Plan
Plan Manitou: A Small Community Demonstrates Large-Scale Planning
Colorado Springs Gazette article on the effectiveness of flood mitigation efforts in Manitou Springs