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Fort Collins Featured for its Flood Resilience in National Video Series

Posted on: May-21-2015

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently filmed a video series highlighting Fort Collins’ flood resiliency efforts and success following the 2013 flood.

NOAA featured the videos on its climate.gov site as examples of preparedness initiatives that other cities can adopt. The series also is part of the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, an interagency effort led and organized by the Executive Office of the President. The combined video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/k0lyygJ-noU.

Focusing on Fort Collins Utilities’ comprehensive floodplain management program; the importance of climate data and collaboration with Colorado State University’s Climatologist, Nolan Doesken; and examples of how Woodward, Inc., is building flood resilient, the video highlights effective flood mitigation efforts and lessons learned from the 1997 flood.

“The flooding events in September 2013 put several of Fort Collins’ flood mitigation projects to the test and proved them to be successful,†said Marsha Hilmes-Robinson, Fort Collins Utilities’ floodplain administrator. “It’s important to remember that events from the past can teach us what to do for the future and how to be as resilient of a community as possible, so we can bounce back easier.â€

NOAA also highlighted the construction of Woodward’s global headquarters and manufacturing campus in Downtown Fort Collins as an example of building flood resilient through modifications to a former golf course that raised the planned buildings out of the floodplain. Woodward went above-and-beyond the required 100-year floodplain regulations and built above the 500-year flood level.

“One of the biggest challenges was that we were planning to develop and build in a floodplain,†said Angie Milewski, landscape architect who worked on the Woodward site and is featured in the video. “We worked with City staff and with Woodward to try to find the best balance between regulatory requirements and the vision for the site.†As Milewski explained, the key is working with the river and the natural systems on the site and incorporating these features into the larger plan.

Woodward’s landscape architecture consultant, BHA Design, also worked with the City of Fort Collins to restore a 31-acre natural area along the Poudre River and adjacent to the corporate campus. The first buildings are expected to be finished by the end of 2015.

A proactive approach to floodplain management involves partnerships. Colorado State University and the Colorado Climate Center are one of the many partnerships that benefit Fort Collins. In the NOAA video, Nolan Doesken, State Climatologist and Senior Research Associate for Colorado State, describes his role as a keeper of climate data and how this long-term data benefits many people and organizations, including those dealing with floods.

“Climate data are so often taken for granted – rainfall, snowpack, streamflow, etc. – but historic and ongoing data are essential for understanding variations and extremes, taking precautions and planning ahead,†said Doesken. “Federal agencies, the State of Colorado, the City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University are all working together to improve climate and hydrologic monitoring, and that helps all of us.â€

As we look to the future, it’s clear that Fort Collins is emerging as a leader in the area of climate resiliency and adaptation planning. Former Fort Collins Mayor Karen Weitkunat served on the President’s State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness, which released an extensive report in November 2014.

The report outlined areas where the federal government can partner with states and local governments to address the impacts of climate change and make residents, businesses and infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather and health impacts of climate change. Weitkunat’s leadership on the Task Force and in the NOAA videos showcases the importance and effectiveness of disaster resilience as is being implemented in Fort Collins.

“The bottom line is mitigation works,†said Hilmes-Robinson. “We don’t know when and we don’t know where the next flood is going to happen. But we do know that it will happen. We need to prepare ahead of time, and all those preparations will pay off in the end. We have to learn from the past. Now is the time to prepare.â€

For more information, visit https://www.fcgov.com/stormwater , email utilities@fcgov.com, call 970-221-6700 or TDD 970-224-6003. View NOAA’s video at https://youtu.be/k0lyygJ-noU and other flood-related videos at https://www.fcgov.com/flood-safety .

Other resources include https://toolkit.climate.gov/taking-action/planning-future-floodplain ; https://toolkit.climate.gov/taking-action/building-smart-floodplain and https://www.fcgov.com/woodward .



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