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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/28/2014 - 2013 FLOOD AFTER ACTION REPORTDATE: STAFF: January 28, 2014 Ken Sampley, Stormwater/Floodplain Program Mgr Jon Haukaas, Water Engr Field Operations Mgr Kevin Gertig, Water Resources/Treatment Operations Manager Mike Gavin, PFA Battalion Chief WORK SESSION ITEM City Council SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION 2013 Flood After Action Report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to provide an early retrospective on the 2013 Fort Collins Flood while identifying programs and activities that worked well, areas needing improvement, and suggested improvement actions. The event demonstrated that flooding can and will occur along the Poudre River or in our other drainage basins such as Spring Creek, Old Town and Dry Creek if significant rainfall events occur. There were many reasons why the damages were not more severe along the Poudre River. Had this type of rainstorm occurred within the City limits instead of to the west, there would have been significant flooding damages and increased risk to life safety. The September 2013 flood in Fort Collins was caused by a convective rain storm over Fort Collins and the Poudre River watershed that delivered in certain locations up to nearly 12 inches of rain from September 9 through September 16, 2013. The High Park Fire burn area west of Fort Collins received the highest precipitation in the lower Poudre watershed, which contributed substantial amounts of debris and sediment to the Poudre River channel. Much of this debris washed into Fort Collins. This report has been categorized as follows: • Flood Event Overview; • Context of the Flood; • What Went Well; • Areas Needing Improvement; • Suggested Improvement Actions; and, • Support Needed. The formal “After Action Review” will be developed and presented to the State of Colorado Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It will be used as a tool to assist the City of Fort Collins in Emergency/Disaster Management and assist in the acquisition of state and federal mitigation funding. GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED 1. Does Council have specific questions regarding Fort Collins floodplain management program or the 2013 Flood Response and Recovery? 2. Does Council concur with the proposed list of suggested improvement actions? BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION FLOOD EVENT OVERVIEW This was the largest flood event on the Poudre River through Fort Collins since 1930. It was very unusual for September. The storm runoff was caused by an unusual combination of gulf-sourced moisture and an upper level low from the southwest. The rain cells were of unusually long duration. The greatest intensity was above the foothills and west into the lower mountains east of the Continental Divide. Parts of the High Park Fire Burn area January 28, 2014 Page 2 in the Poudre River Watershed received almost 12 inches of rain in a 7-day period. This equates to between a 200- and 500-year event. For several counties in Colorado, the event resulted in both Presidential and State of Colorado Disaster Declarations. The storm event triggered the activation of the City’s Emergency Operations Center at the Utility Service Center (USC) Training Room on Thursday afternoon, September 12, 2013. Fort Collins’ City Manager issued an Emergency Declaration on Friday morning, September 13, 2013. Staff from Stormwater, Poudre Fire Authority (PFA), Stormwater Maintenance, Police, Public Information Office, Utilities Customer Connections, Senior Staff, and many others provided 24/7 monitoring and operations over the next several days. The Recovery Phase of the event kicked off on September 16, 2014. The City has requested funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help with the flood response and recovery costs. The highest stream gage reading on the Poudre River at the canyon mouth was approximately 10,400 cubic feet per second (cfs). The flood waters almost overtopped College Avenue near its intersection with Vine Drive. The discharge indicates the event was approximately a 50-year flood (2% chance storm). That means there is a 2% chance of a storm of that size happening any given year. For reference purposes, the 100-year discharge (1% storm) on the Poudre River is 13,300 cfs. CONTEXT OF THE FLOOD Over the last several years, the Fort Collins area as well as much of Colorado has been in a “Drought.” Early in 2013, Fort Collins implemented a watering restriction policy based on the reduced mountain snowpack available and potential limited water supply. While Fort Collins did receive a substantial amount of precipitation in the form of snows in March and April of 2013, followed by summer rainfall, the drought designation sometimes results in increased public complacency about flooding. It must be stressed, however, that even during periods of drought, the potential for flooding remains. Staff realized the challenges that could occur from a flooding and erosion standpoint after last year’s devastating High Park Fire. The fire burned large areas of the upstream Poudre River watershed. As a result, there is the potential for dramatically increased storm runoff along with substantial increases in sediment and debris transport in the Poudre River. Accordingly, staff prepared and implemented a May 2013 Table Top exercise focused on a large storm event in the Poudre Canyon. Staff from Stormwater, PFA, Police, Streets, Natural Areas, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and others gathered together to improve coordination and prepare for the exact situation that ended up occurring. Over the last several years, the City considered potential revisions to the Poudre River Floodplain Regulations. On July 1, 2013, City Council adopted Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan (ERPP) requirements for new development, redevelopment, additions, change of occupancy of structures in the Poudre River 100-Year floodplain. On November 19, 2013, City Council adopted new floodplain regulation requirements from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB). WHAT WENT WELL Flood Attenuation in Halligan and Seaman Reservoirs The Halligan and Seaman Reservoirs are situated on-line in the North Fork of the Poudre River and provided detention of storm runoff that reduced the peak flow in the Poudre River during this event. Halligan Reservoir had 833 acre feet of water (capacity 6,400 acre feet) at storm onset while Seaman Reservoir (located downstream of Halligan Reservoir) was at approximately seventy-five percent (75%) capacity of 5,000 acre feet. The City was fortunate in that both reservoirs stored appreciable peak runoff generated from heavy rainfall in this area before reaching full pool and spilling. If these reservoirs had been fuller, storm runoff peak flows on the Poudre River would have been higher and flooding in Fort Collins would have been greater. Seaman Reservoir began discharging over its spillway at midnight September 12, 2013 and peaked at 4:45 AM on September 13, 2013. As a result, downstream flow in the North Fork of the Poudre River climbed from 780 cfs to over 7,500 cfs during that time period. By the time Halligan reached its peak discharge of 1,000 cfs midnight January 28, 2014 Page 3 on Sunday, September 15, 2013, the North Fork of the Poudre River below Seaman had dropped to 2160 cfs. This situation is not something that Fort Collins can count on to reduce potential flood flows from the Poudre River Watershed in the future. A map showing the general location of the reservoirs and key hydrologic information is provided on Slide 15 in the accompanying PowerPoint presentation. Floodplain Management The City of Fort Collins has a comprehensive floodplain management program. It ranks as one of the top programs nationwide under FEMA’s Community Rating System, resulting in flood insurance discounts of up to 30%. Many tools are used in floodplain management including regulations, capital projects, acquisition programs, open space preservation, flood warning systems and drainage system maintenance. A more detailed description of these components and examples of their application to the 2013 Flood are included as Attachment 1. Floodplain Regulations For the 2013 Poudre River Flood, the minimal damages to structures and the reduced emergency response for life-safety issues were, in part, the result of strong floodplain regulations in the Poudre River Basin. Specific uses are regulated in the floodplain. For example, since 2000, no new residential structures or additions have been allowed in the 100-year floodplain. Furthermore, since 1995, life-safety, emergency response and hazardous material critical faculties have been prohibited in the 100-year floodplain. Life-safety and emergency response critical facilities are also prohibited in the 500-year floodplain. Prohibiting these critical uses in the floodplain reduces the burden on and risk to emergency responders during a flood. Another important floodplain regulation that helped to minimize damage is the requirement to elevate new structures and additions two feet above the 100-year floodplain. Structures that were elevated and protected from flood damage include the In-Situ building on Lincoln Ave. and the Neenan building and Orthopedic Center of the Rockies building in the Seven Lakes Business Park along Prospect Road (Photos 1 and 2 in Attachment 1). The debris line on the west side of the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies structure shows there was approximately 6 inches of freeboard left before flood waters would have entered the building. A floodplain regulation that is unique to the Poudre River is the requirement that no floatable materials are allowed in the 100-year floodplain. This regulation is triggered when an addition, substantial improvement or new structure is built on the property. Historically, there were several properties along Lincoln Avenue that stored large quantities of floatable materials including metal drums, plastic shipping containers, storage tanks, pallets, construction supplies, vehicles, etc. However, during the last 10 years these properties have come into compliance with the floatable materials requirement and have greatly reduced the amount of materials that were at risk of floating off-site and damaging other properties or public infrastructure downstream. Photos 3 and 4 in Attachment 1 show the “before clean-up” conditions at the Team Petroleum site along Lincoln Ave. As part of the clean-up, all storage tanks were anchored to prevent floatation and all pallets, shipping containers and drums were either removed or secured inside a building. City field crews reported both during and after the flood that very little of this type of floatable materials were moved downstream. This should be considered a true success and we greatly thank those businesses for their continued commitment to complying with the floatable materials regulation. Floodplain Regulation Review Processes The Poudre River floodplain regulations have been reviewed and revised several times since the 1997 flood. The first was in 2000 when the regulations became more restrictive. In 2007, the regulations were reviewed in coordination with Larimer County and some of the City regulations became less restrictive to match the County, while the County strengthened some of their regulations to better match the City. In 2013 after several years of review and public input, Council adopted a new regulation for the Poudre River that requires new structures, additions, substantial improvements, etc. within the 100-Year Floodplain prepare and submit an Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan (ERPP). In addition, on November 19, 2013, City Council adopted the statewide Colorado Water Conservation Board regulations. January 28, 2014 Page 4 Property Acquisitions The City’s Natural Areas Program has proactively purchased property along the Poudre River Corridor, most of which is in the floodplain. In addition, the City’s Parks Department owns and maintains several parks that are in or near the City’s designated floodplain. Table 1 below compares the floodplain acreage in the City limits to the amount of open space preserved by the City of Fort Collins. Preserving this land as open space not only minimizes damages during a flood, but it also enhances the natural and beneficial functions of the floodplain including allowing floodwaters to spread out and slow down and providing beneficial habitat. Table 1. Amount of Open Space preserved in the Poudre River 100-year floodplain. Acreage of Parks in 100- year Floodplain Acreage of Natural Areas in 100-year Floodplain Total Acreage of Open Space Preserved 100-year Floodplain Acreage Inside City Limits This shows that 66% of the 100- year floodplain is preserved as Open 54.8 923.9 978.7 1484.6 Space In addition to preserving large tracts of open space, the City’s Stormwater Department, in coordination with the Natural Areas Department, has purchased several properties in the College Avenue and Vine Drive area as part of the “Willing Seller –Willing Buyer” program that was implemented by Council in 2000. The Willing Seller-Willing Buyer program is specifically for residential structures in the floodplain or floodway and commercial structures in the floodway. There have been two commercial structures on the west side of College removed and one residential structure just north of College and Vine removed. At the time of the flood, a second residential structure at 213 E. Vine Drive had been purchased and the building was being readied for demolition. That structure had 8-10 inches of water in the basement from the flood and is expected to be removed in the near future (Photos 6 and 7 of Attachment 1). Flood Table Top Exercise In May 2013, Fort Collins organized and conducted - in conjunction with Larimer County and the State of Colorado Office of Emergency Management - a table top exercise focused on debris management resulting from spring flooding on the Poudre River. The scenario included debris flow moving down the river and creating blockages at bridges and snag points as well as damages to roads and highways. Staff was asked to focus on communications, mutual aid agreements, resource management and Emergency Operations. Approximately 50 staff participated in the exercise. This increased knowledge and provided some training experience using the Incident Command System (ICS). As a result of the training, staff was better prepared when the actual flood event occurred in September. The exercise did find that improvements were needed with training and experience. Flood Warning System The City’s Flood Warning System (FWS) comprises a network of 75 gages that monitor rainfall and streamflow across the City and a large part of Larimer County. Data from this network is viewed via software situated in the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and is also copied to the National Weather Service for use by its forecasters and hydrologists. The FWS also includes an emergency action plan (On Call Manual) containing contact lists, maps of flood inundation risk, tables detailing infrastructure vulnerability, and gage alarm thresholds for rain intensity and flow depths associated with emergency actions. Stormwater on-call staff (office and field crew personnel) train and complete flood exercises annually, and have been empowered by the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA) Office of Emergency management to handle City flood emergencies. This includes emergency messaging to the public via the LETA-911 system, the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and through traditional and social media outlets with the support of Fort Collins Utilities’ Customer Connections and the City of Fort Collins’ Public Information Office (PIO) staff. January 28, 2014 Page 5 All elements of the FWS were engaged during this event. The real-time data provided by the gage network was critical for dynamic monitoring of areas at flood risk, for both public safety and infrastructure protection. The rainfall and Poudre streamflow data was used to make informed decisions about emergency notifications to at-risk populations along the Poudre River, street and bridge closures, and evacuations. For the event, the vast majority of the 61 FWS alarms were generated by the Poudre River Mouth of the Canyon and Lincoln Avenue streamflow gages and by the network of FWS rain gages located in the mountains and foothills to the west of town. Recent enhancements made to the FWS network included new gages to assist in monitoring rainfall and runoff on the Poudre River and smaller watersheds subject to increased runoff from the High Park Fire burn area. Streamflow data from two newly-installed Larimer County gages enabled Utilities On- call staff located in the City’s EOC to monitor discharge in Rist Creek and Mill Creek. The City’s new streamflow gage placed on the Poudre River at the Town of Poudre Park enabled EOC staff to separate the relative contributions of storm runoff and timing of flow peaks between the Poudre’s main stem and its North Fork tributary. Other new City gages at Poudre Park, at Hewlett Gulch and at Gateway Park provided greater detail of rain intensity and distribution along the Poudre River. Emergency Operations The City Utility’s EOC was opened on September 12, 2013 at 2:00 PM in the Training Room at the Utilities Service Center (USC) located at 700 Wood Street in Fort Collins. The EOC was staffed and operated continuously through 12:00 AM on September 13, 2013 and then had two more operational periods on September 14, 2013 from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM and again on September 15, 2013 from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The Incident Command Structure (ICS) implemented during EOC operation was adjusted dynamically as personnel availability and operational periods changed. It comprised staff from City Utilities, City Police and the Poudre Fire Authority that provided support to Incident Command (IC) and provided personnel for all four General Staff (Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance) positions. Additional support came from City Planning staff for evacuations (using Transfort), City GIS for mapping, cataloging and City website efforts, and City IT support for ongoing equipment and communications assistance. Included in the EOC operation were Utilities staff for Incident Safety and staff from the Public Information Office. Other departments and agencies participating in EOC activities include City Streets, who managed bridge closures both in the City and in the County, and Engineering, who advised regarding Bridge safety. A detailed description of the Key Actions, Regional Considerations, and Incident Management and Documentation is provided in Attachment 2. Flood Management Projects The 2001 Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan outlines several improvements along the River to prevent flood damage and bank erosion, as well as promoting habitat improvements between Lincoln and Linden near Old Town. The City has implemented select projects within this plan over the last 12 years. The Plan has also been used in conjunction with the City’s floodplain regulations to regulate development along the Poudre in such a way as to prevent property damage and loss of life. Critical areas identified in the plan were monitored closely by City staff both during and after the flood. Levees The Oxbow Levee was constructed by the City of Fort Collins in 2004 to protect the Buckingham and Andersonville neighborhoods from 100-year floods on the Poudre River. The levee is an earthen structure that runs from Linden Street south to Lincoln Avenue. The structure was designed and built in accordance with all FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers design standards and has been certified by FEMA as protecting the landside neighborhoods from the 100-year flood. The levee performed as designed during the September 2013 flood, preventing river flows from entering the neighborhoods to the east. The Timberline Road Levee was constructed in 1999 to prevent the Poudre river from overtopping upstream of Timberline Road and flooding the road and properties neat Prospect and Timberline. The levee functioned well during the event, although flows did not reach the toe of the embankment. January 28, 2014 Page 6 LPath Spill Project This project is located along the east bank of the Poudre River between Timberline Road and Prospect Road and consists of two hardened spill locations where the river overflows in to the Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. The spills, which are made from concrete block mats, were constructed in 2006 as part of the Prospect Road widening project. The project also included the construction of a second bridge under East Prospect Road to convey the LPath flow southward back to the River within the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). Without these constructed spills, the river had the potential to overtop the old gravel pit embankment, erode the banks, and be captured and re-routed entirely into the lakes within the Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. The North LPath spill overtopped during the flood and performed as designed. The South spill did not overtop, although the water surface came within inches of starting to spill. Poudre Bank Protection The City has built several bank protection projects along the length of the river over the last twenty years. Many of these projects are in areas that were identified as erosion problem areas in the Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan. Some of the projects, such as the bank protection north of Wood Street protect critical infrastructure (27-inch sanitary sewer line at that location). Post flood inspections have shown that all of these bank protection projects withstood the forces of a 50-year flood event on the river. Other locations have been protected to prevent flood flows from leaving the river banks and being stored in adjacent gravel pits. Social Media – Public Communications In 2013, social media was utilized for the first time to share public information on flooding and flood risks. This started with the “10-5 Outreach” campaign in the spring and summer leading up to Flood Awareness Week in July. Messages from the High Park Fire flash floods and general information on flooding in Fort Collins were offered on a regular schedule. Immediate updates on weather and flood threats were broadcast as information was available. Twitter and Facebook were the primary communication platforms, and both were supplemented with YouTube videos. During the 2013 flood event updates were provided regularly on Facebook and Twitter to the public. Broadcasts continued throughout the operational periods of flood response. Facebook engagement during the flood event was highly successful, indicating nearly 179,000 direct views and nearly 265,000 shared views during the 4-day emergency operations period. The City directly engaged 68,470 people and added 1,875 new “likes” to its Facebook feed. Twitter feeds during the flood reached 12-times the normal number of people during the operational period through retweets, modified tweets and favorites. The City gained 1,503 new followers on Twitter during the 4-day flood event, bringing the total number of followers to 8,392 people. Content across social media was updated in real time, and corresponded to website updates posted during and after the flood event. The ability to update information as it happened proved valuable to the public based on feedback received by the Public Information Office staff. Stormwater Utility Website The City website dedicated to flood updates and ongoing information sharing is still active at www.fcgov.com/utilities/safety-and-security/2013-flood/. This website is the City’s main platform for accurate information including press releases, contacts for other agencies, how to find help, and interactive GIS maps. Interactive GIS Map The GIS map offered at http://goo.gl/Dhpa4S includes photographs acquired across the City that can be selected interactively by users. Also available is a summary of precipitation information available at multiple locations in and around Fort Collins. January 28, 2014 Page 7 Debris Management Debris management was a large component of the post-flood recovery effort. Widespread debris deposition occurred within the flood inundation area throughout the City. Some of the most significant areas impacted by flood debris included the Prospect Road/Riverbend Ponds Area, Udall Natural Area/stormwater detention basins, McMurray Natural Area, and along the River corridor in the vicinity of the Mulberry Street and Lemay Avenue Bridge crossings. City equipment dedicated to the debris removal effort included nine dump trucks accompanied by various loading equipment. Debris monitors were stationed with equipment operators to collect documentation of the debris removal effort including photographs, load tickets, and DARS reports. An average of 230 cubic yards of mixed woody debris/vegetation, soil, and sediment was hauled per day. Overall 1,720 cubic yards of debris was removed. FEMA Category D (Water Control Facilities) will be used for the clean-up work on the Udall Natural Area and WQ ponds while FEMA Category G (Parks, Recreational, and Other) will be used for the clean-up work on the Poudre River (Prospect Road/Riverbend Ponds Area, Udall Natural Area/stormwater detention basins, McMurray Natural Area, and along the River corridor in the vicinity of the Mulberry Street and Lemay Avenue Bridge crossings). The total estimated costs and reimbursement breakdown for debris management is: Estimated Total Costs $ 190,000 Estimated FEMA Reimbursement $ 142,500 CWCB Share $ 23,750 Fort Collins Share $ 23,750 Flood Recovery Projects and Damage Assessments Post-flood damage assessments throughout the City and GMA began on September 17, 2013. Personnel involved in the damage assessment included City Utilities staff, as well as a group of private consultants from local engineering firms. Initial damaged areas were identified using video and photography from aerial flights during and after flooding. The use of the Damage Assessment Reporting System (DARS) application was implemented by City staff to perform damage assessments, tabulate data, and populate damage assessment forms. This application was chosen not only to assist in the flood damage assessment and recovery effort but to serve as a documentation and assessment tool for future infrastructure assessments in the City. Below is a summary of observed damages along the Poudre River corridor through the City limits and Growth Management Area (GMA): Structures and buildings Though some evidence of isolated minor flooding in and around structures was observed, no damage reports were received from citizens for structures and buildings within the City limits. Poudre River banks and channel High flows along the Poudre River resulted in erosion and bank sloughing at numerous locations within the GMA. Typical damage observed in the field included toe scour, and bank undercutting and sloughing which was significant in some areas. Overall, a large amount of the damage was considered minor and will not require repair. Bridges and roadways The City is responsible for five major bridge structures over the Poudre River. During the damage assessment process, State bridge inspectors completed detailed inspections of the five bridges and determined that no major structural damage had occurred as a result of the flood event. Minor repairs were recommended to five bridge crossings (Prospect Road, Linden Street, Lincoln Avenue, Rawhide Flats over Wire Draw Tributary, and CR84 near Rawhide Flats Road) to protect from future scour. The most significant repair identified during the January 28, 2014 Page 8 inspections was at the Timberline Road Bridge where damage to riprap protecting the north Bridge abutment occurred. No major damage was reported to any of the City’s streets within flood impacted areas. Flood Recovery Projects A total of 18 Flood Recovery Projects have been identified and are listed below: 1. Riverbend Ponds NA Sewer Head cut 2. Poudre/Spring Creek Trail Bank Repair 3. Gibbens at Prospect Road Bank Repair 4. ELC Trail/Bank Repair 5. N. College/Lake Canal Pedestrian Bridge Repair 6. LPATH at Timberline Road North Spill Bank Repair 7. Kingfisher Point NA Bank Repair 8. Bank Repair at Railroad East of College 9. Lincoln Street Bank Repair 10. Arapahoe Bends NA Head cut Repair 11. Lincoln Bridge Revetment Repair 12. Prospect Road Bridge Sediment Removal 13. Trail Wall Repair West of Prospect 14. Timberline Road Bridge Revetment Repair 15. Poudre River Trail Slope Repair at Timberline Road 16. Right Bank Repair Upstream of Timberline Road 17. Lake Canal Siphon Headwall Repair 18. Gateway Park Footbridge Repair. Stormwater staff has visited the sites with FEMA personnel and have received favorable indications based on the damage and documentation from staff that the City will be eligible for FEMA reimbursement. The total estimated costs and reimbursement breakdown for debris management are: Estimated Total Costs $ 804,000 Estimated FEMA Reimbursement $ 421,000 FEMA will reimburse up to 75% of the costs to repair or replace infrastructure to match pre-flood conditions plus some small mitigation contribution. The reason FEMA’s reimbursement shown above is less than 75% of the costs is that additional work is needed in the damaged areas to protect areas to the 100-year flood event. AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT Training – ICS and EOC Effective Incident Management requires that involved staff be knowledgeable and experienced on the ICS Structure. Many of the staff who were involved in the 2013 flood were unfamiliar or at least inexperienced with Emergency Operations Center (EOC) positions, roles and responsibilities. While Police and PFA staff use the ICS structure frequently, other staff rarely is in this situation. Without appropriate training and frequent exercises and reminders, staff is not as efficient and experienced when major incidents occur. With this lack of experience, many staff members involved were unfamiliar with the required ICS forms and documentation requirements. Finance and other administrative personnel were unfamiliar with their roles and how to implement prompt support functions. There is not a formal guide for recovery process (forms, declarations, cost recovery). Personnel in many departments were unfamiliar with recovery activities. EOC Environment and Equipment The primary Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located in the PFA Training Center at 3400 West Vine Drive. Depending on the nature of the emergency and its location, this EOC may not be accessible. For the 2013 Flood, the EOC was established at the secondary site which is the Training Room of the Utility Services Center (USC) January 28, 2014 Page 9 located at 700 Wood Street. There have been improvements and enhancements to the PFA Training Center to better prepare for emergency operations. Improvements are needed to the secondary location at the Utility Service Center. During the flood, accessibility by staff into the Utility Services Center EOC was at times an issue. Frequently staff had to phone others in the EOC to come open the USC Front door. In addition, the Training Room must be setup and arranged to function as an EOC each time there is an emergency event. There is no permanent capability in the USC Training Room to print from desk or lap tops. The internet capability and wireless service are limited. Participants were often unable to use cell phones or signals were very weak. The room setup has a lack of hardline phone ports. The room is not set up with TV monitors to use for local news, Incident Management, and weather monitoring. Mutual Aid Agreement / Operations Documents To increase effectiveness, Mutual Aid Agreements should be executed and in place before disasters or events occur. The “Larimer County Flood of 2013” severely affected several neighboring communities including Larimer County, Estes Park, Longmont and Loveland. These communities needed aid and assistance in the form of resources and services to respond and recover from the impacts of the flood. During critical phases of an emergency, it is important that neighboring communities work together to protect lives and property. City Council was asked to authorize emergency mutual aid agreements with other governmental entities for short term aid and assistance after the 2013 Flood occurred. Debris Management Plan The City’s Debris Management plan had not been updated to include amendments required by FEMA since the Hurricane Sandy natural disaster in October 2012. Expansion of Flood Warning System Three gage locations providing data to City EOC staff failed during the event. The CDWR sensor on the North Fork of the Poudre below Seaman Reservoir ceased reporting shortly after midnight September 12 through 3:00 PM September 13, 2013. The CDWR gage at the mouth of the canyon ceased reporting 10:15 PM September 12 until 6:15 PM September 13, 2013. However the City’s FWS streamflow gage co-located there operated continuously during the event, providing critical discharge data. The co-located USGS and City FWS streamflow sensors located upstream of the bridge at Lincoln Avenue were damaged during the flood event and reported erroneous between 3:30 AM September 13 and mid-day September 14, when the USGS began transmitting flow data from a new sensor located approximately 300 feet downstream. In these cases of equipment failure, gage data from upstream and downstream locations was evaluated to determine flow conditions along the Poudre during the event. Looking forward, new potential gage locations have been identified to enhance the data network. Decision-Making Aids for Infrastructure A dedicated effort is needed to improve and enhance the structure, content and availability of information on City infrastructure. With the height of the floodwaters and the fact the incident occurred through the night, it was difficult to evaluate the flooding impacts and safety considerations on both bridges and roadways. In some instances visual observation of flooded roadways (i.e. Prospect Road near the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies) were enough to confirm the decision to close access for vehicles and pedestrians. In other instances, there was insufficient information to confirm the structural integrity and potential risk of failure for bridges. As a result, the decision was made to close all bridges that cross the Poudre River within the City limits. This was the right decision given the situation, but better information in the future could result in select and/or localized closures based on enhanced decision-making aids. SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS While Fort Collins has been proactive in preparing and planning for natural disasters and events, the 2013 Flood brought attention to items that should be improved or enhanced to better position the community to address January 28, 2014 Page 10 emergency situations. Suggested improvement actions have been identified and categorized into High and Medium priorities. In addition, suggested responsible agencies have been identified to lead efforts to facilitate improvements for future emergency activities. The table below lists the High Priority suggested improvement actions: TRAINING LEAD Incident Command System (ICS) Roles and Responsibilities (Response Phase) OEM / FCU Roles and Responsibilities (Recovery Phase) OEM / FCU Forms and Documentation EOC / City DEPTS All Hazard Incident Management Teams PFA / OEM Recovery Manuals and Training OEM / FCU / FINANCE Mutual Aid Agreements and Training ATTY / OEM FLOOD-RELATED LEAD Flood Warning System Expansion SW Annual Table Top Exercises SW / PFA Flood Warning On-Call Manual Updates SW Infrastructure Decision-Making Aids SW / ENGR / STREETS (OEM=Office of Emergency Management; FCU=Fort Collins Utilities; EOC=Emergency Operations Center; PFA=Poudre Fire Authority; Atty=City Attorney; SW=Stormwater; Engr=Engineering) The table below lists the Medium Priority suggested improvement actions: TECHNOLOGY LEAD EOC Access Credentialing OEM / CITY OPS Access Cards PFA / CITY OPS EOC Facilities and Equipment OEM / CITY / FCU Cell phone signal boost IT EOC Software (i.e. WebEOC) OEM / IT Internet / Wireless services PFA / IT TV Monitors, printers, phones PFA / FCU / IT DEBRIS MANAGEMENT LEAD Update Debris Management Plan FCU (OEM=Office of Emergency Management; OPS=Operation Services; PFA=Poudre Fire Authority; FCU=Fort Collins Utilities; IT=Information Technology) SUPPORT NEEDED The suggested improvement actions cannot move forward and will not be completed unless they are a priority and value of Fort Collins. Key items that need the support of Council are: Maintaining a comprehensive floodplain management program that includes strong floodplain regulations, capital projects, land acquisition programs, open space preservation, flood warning systems and stormwater system maintenance; January 28, 2014 Page 11  Enhanced comprehensive training to include Incident Management (Response, Recovery and Documentation) and Flood Warning Table Top Exercises;  Expansion of the Flood Warning System and creation of Infrastructure Decision-Making Aids to improve emergency operations and protect life safety;  Finalization of Mutual Aid Agreements with neighboring communities; and,  Funding for EOC Facilities, equipment and IT needs to include access cards and credentialing, Cell phone signal boosts, EOC software, improved Internet/Wireless services, TV monitors, printers, telecommunications. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2013 Flood -- Floodplain Management Summay (PDF) 2. 2013 Flood -- EOC Key Actions, Regional Considerations, Incident Management (PDF) 3. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 1 of 10 INTRODUCTION The City of Fort Collins has a comprehensive floodplain management program. It ranks as one of the top programs nationwide under FEMA’s Community Rating System, resulting in flood insurance discounts of up to 30%. Many tools are used in floodplain management including regulations, capital projects, acquisition programs, open space preservation, flood warning systems and drainage system maintenance. Floodplain Regulations For the 2013 Poudre River Flood, the minimal damages to structures and the reduced emergency response for life-safety issues were, in part, the result of strong floodplain regulations in the Poudre River Basin. Specific uses are regulated in the floodplain. For example, since 2000, no new residential structures or additions have been allowed in the 100- year floodplain. Furthermore, since 1995, life-safety, emergency response and hazardous material critical faculties have been prohibited in the 100-year floodplain. Life-safety and emergency response critical facilities are also prohibited in the 500-year floodplain. Prohibiting these critical uses in the floodplain reduces the burden on and risk to emergency responders during a flood. Another important floodplain regulation that helped to minimize damage is the requirement to elevate new structures and additions two feet above the 100-year floodplain. Structures that were elevated and protected from flood damage include the In-Situ building on Lincoln Ave. and the Neenan building and Orthopedic Center of the Rockies building in the Seven Lakes Business Park along Prospect Road (Photos 1 and 2). Photo 1. Aerial view of the Seven Lakes Business Park looking east on the morning of Sept. 13, 2013 showing floodwater against the Orthopedic Center of the Rockies building (lower right) and the Neenan Building (center). These building did not have damage because they were elevated. Photo 2. – Debris line on west side of Orthopedic Center of the Rockies showing water level against the building. There was approximately six inches of freeboard left before water entered the building. This is a good example of the benefits of elevating structures to protect from flood damage. ATTACHMENT 1 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 2 of 6 A floodplain regulation that is unique to the Poudre River is the requirement that no floatable materials are allowed in the 100-year floodplain. This regulation is triggered when an addition, substantial improvement or new structure is built on the property. Historically, there were several properties along Lincoln Avenue that stored large quantities of floatable materials including metal drums, plastic shipping containers, storage tanks, pallets, construction supplies, vehicles, etc. However, during the last 10 years these properties have come into compliance with the floatable materials requirement and have greatly reduced the amount of materials that were at risk of floating off-site and damaging other properties or public infrastructure downstream. Photos 3 and 4 show the “before clean-up” conditions at the Team Petroleum site along Lincoln Ave. As part of the clean-up, all storage tanks were anchored to prevent floatation and all pallets, shipping containers and drums were either removed or secured inside a building. City field crews reported both during and after the flood that very little of this type of floatable materials were moved downstream. This should be considered a true success and we greatly thank those businesses for their continued commitment to complying with the floatable materials regulation Photo 3 and 4. Team Petroleum site on E. Lincoln Avenue prior to clean-up of floatable materials. As part of the clean-up, all storage tanks were anchored to prevent floatation and all pallets, shipping containers and drums were either removed or secured inside a building. Floodplain Regulation Review Processes The Poudre River floodplain regulations have been reviewed and revised several times since the 1997 flood. The first was in 2000 when the regulations became more restrictive. In 2007, the regulations were reviewed in coordination with Larimer County and some of the City regulations became less restrictive to match the County, while the County strengthened some of their regulations to better match the city. There is not 100% agreement between the City and County’s regulations. In 2013 after several years of review and public input, Council adopted a new regulation for the Poudre River that requires new structures, additions, substantial improvement, etc. within the 100-Year Floodplain prepare and submit an Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan (ERPP). In addition, on November 19, 2013, City Council adopted the statewide Colorado Water Conservation Board regulations. 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 3 of 6 Property Acquisitions The City’s Natural Areas Program has proactively purchased property along the Poudre River Corridor, most of which is in the floodplain. In addition, The City’s Parks Department owns and maintains several parks. Table 1 compares the floodplain acreage in the City limits to the amount of open space preserved by the City of Fort Collins. Preserving this land as open space not only minimizes damages during a flood, but it also enhances the natural and beneficial functions of the floodplain including allowing floodwaters to spread out and slow down and providing beneficial habitat (Photo 5). Table 1. Amount of Open Space preserved in the Poudre River 100-year floodplain. Acreage of Parks in 100- year Floodplain Acreage of Natural Areas in 100-year Floodplain Total Acreage of Open Space Preserved 100-year Floodplain Acreage Inside City Limits This shows that 66% of the 100- year floodplain is preserved as 54.8 923.9 978.7 1484.6 Open Space Photo 5. Open Space preserved in McMurray Natural Area and Legacy Park. Floodwaters were able to spread out and slow down and not cause any damages. In addition to preserving large tracts of open space, the City’s Stormwater Department in coordination with the Natural Areas Department has purchased several properties in the College Avenue and Vine Drive area as part of the “Willing Seller –Willing Buyer” program that was implemented by Council in 2000. The Willing Seller-Willing Buyer program is specifically for residential structures in the floodplain or floodway and commercial structures in the floodway. There have been two commercial structures on the west side of College removed and one residential structure just north of College and Vine removed. At the time of the flood, a second 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 4 of 6 residential structure at 213 E. Vine Dr. had been purchased , but the building had not yet been demolished. That structure had 8-10 inches of water in the basement from the flood and is expected to be removed in the near future (Photos 6 and 7). Photo 6 and 7. 213 E. Vine Dr. is a structure purchased as part of the City’s Willing Seller- Willing Buyer program. At the time of the flood, the house had not yet been demolished. The basement of the house had 6-10 inches of water in the basement from the flood. Flood Table Top Exercise In May 2013, Fort Collins organized and conducted - in conjunction with Larimer County and the State of Colorado Office of Emergency Management - a table top exercise focused on debris management resulting from spring flooding on the Poudre River. The scenario included debris flow moving down the river and creating blockages at bridges and snag points as well as damages to roads and highways. Staff were asked to focus on communications, mutual aid agreements, resource management and EOC operations. Approximately 50 staff participated in the exercise. This increased knowledge and provided some training experience using the Incident Command System (ICS). As a result of the training, staff were better prepared when the actual flood event occurred in September. The exercise did find that improvements were needed with training and experience. Flood Warning System The City’s Flood Warning System (FWS) comprises a network of 75 gages that monitor rainfall and streamflow across the City and a large part of Larimer County. Data from this network is viewed via software situated in the City’s EOC, and is also copied to the NWS for use by its forecasters and hydrologists. The FWS also includes an emergency action plan (On Call Manual) containing contact lists, maps of flood inundation risk, tables detailing infrastructure vulnerability, and gage alarm thresholds for rain intensity and flow depths associated with emergency actions. 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 5 of 6 Stormwater On Call staff (office and field crew personnel) train and complete flood exercises annually, and have been empowered by the Poudre Fire Authority (PFA) Office of Emergency management to handle City flood emergencies. This includes emergency messaging to the public via the LETA-911 system, the Emergency Alert System (EAS), and through traditional and social media outlets with the support of Fort Collins Utilities’ Customer Connections and the City of Fort Collins’ Public Information Office (PIO) staff. All elements of the FWS were engaged during this event. The real-time data provided by the gage network was critical for dynamic monitoring of areas at flood risk, for both public safety and infrastructure protection. The rainfall and Poudre streamflow data was used to inform decisions about emergency notifications to at-risk populations along the Poudre River, street and bridge closures, and evacuations. For the event, the vast majority of the 61 FWS alarms were generated by the Poudre River Mouth of the Canyon and Lincoln Avenue streamflow gages and by the network of FWS rain gages located in the mountains and foothills to the west of town. Recent enhancements made to the FWS network included new gages to assist in monitoring rainfall and runoff on the Poudre River and smaller watersheds subject to increased runoff from the High Park Fire burn area. Streamflow data from two newly-installed Larimer County gages enabled Utilities On Call staff located in the City’s EOC to monitor discharge in Rist Creek and Mill Creek. The City’s new streamflow gage placed on the Poudre River at the Town of Poudre Park enabled EOC staff to separate the relative contributions of storm runoff and timing of flow peaks between the Poudre’s main stem and its North Fork tributary. Other new City gages at Poudre Park, at Hewlett Gulch and at Gateway Park provided greater detail of rain intensity and distribution along the Poudre River. Flood Management Projects The 2001 Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan outlines several improvements along the river to prevent flood damage and bank erosion, as well as promoting habitat improvements between Lincoln and Linden near Old Town. The City has implemented select projects within this plan over the last 12 years. The Plan has also been used in conjunction with the City’s floodplain regulations to regulate development along the Poudre in such a way as to prevent property damage and loss of life. Critical areas identified in the plan were monitored closely by City staff both during and after the flood. Stormwater Flood Control CIP Program Several completed flood control projects outside of the Poudre River such as the Canal Importation Ponds and Outfall (CIPO), the Dry Creek Flood Control Project, the Locust Street Outfall, and the Oak Street Outfall system performed as designed during the flood event. It should be noted that these facilities did not see the same levels of rainfall or flows as occurred in the Poudre River Basin. City staff continue to work closely with CDOT to find solutions to overtopping flooding in the area of Harmony Road / I-25 / Kechter Road. Harmony Road has the potential to overtop in the 100-year flood event, and came close to overtopping during the 50-year flood event. 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Floodplain Management 6 of 6 Levees The Oxbow Levee was constructed by the City of Fort Collins in 2004 to protect the Buckingham and Andersonville neighborhoods from 100-year floods on the Poudre River. The levee is an earthen structure that runs from Linden Street south to Lincoln Avenue. The structure was designed and built in accordance with all FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers design standards and has been certified by FEMA as protecting the landside neighborhoods from the 100-year flood. The levee performed as designed during the September 2013 flood, preventing river flows from entering the neighborhoods to the east. Some of the neighborhoods did however experience localized flooding that was caused by local drainage and flows from the Coy Ditch. The Timberline Road Levee was constructed in 1999 to prevent the Poudre river from overtopping upstream of Timberline Road and flooding the road and properties neat Prospect and Timberline. The levee functioned well during the event, although flows did not reach the toe of the embankment. LPath Spill Project This project is located along the east bank of the Poudre River between Timberline Road and Prospect Road and consists of two hardened spill locations where the river overflows in to the Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. The first spill is located immediately downstream of Timberline Road, while the second spill is located approximately 1,000 feet upstream of Prospect Road. The spills, which are made from concrete block mats, were constructed in 2006 as part of the Prospect Road widening project. The project also included the construction of a second bridge under East Prospect Road to convey the LPath flow southward back to the River within the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). Without these constructed spills, the river had the potential to overtop the old gravel pit embankment, erode the banks, and be captured and re-routed entirely into the lakes within the Riverbend Ponds Natural Area. The North LPath spill overtopped during the flood and performed as designed. The embankment held in place, and the main flood flows stayed within the main channel banks. Post flood inspections showed no damage to the spill structure, and even the grass growing through the concrete blocks held in place. The South spill did not overtop, although the water surface came within inches of starting to spill. Poudre Bank Protection The City has built several bank protection projects along the length of the river over the last twenty years. Many of these projects area in areas that were identified as erosion problem areas in the Poudre River Master Drainageway Plan. Some of the projects, such as the bank protection north of Wood Street protect critical infrastructure (27-inch sanitary sewer line at that location). Post flood inspections have shown that all of these bank protection projects withstood the forces of a 50-year flood event on the river. Other locations have been protected to prevent the capture of the river by the erosion of gravel pit embankments, such as the 2012 bank repair at Sharp Point Drive. 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Emergency Operations Center 1 of 3 INTRODUCTION The City Utility’s EOC was opened on September 12,, 2013 at 2:00 PM in the Training Room at the Utilities Service Center (USC) located at 700 Wood Street in Fort Collins. The EOC was staffed and operated continuously through 12:00 PM February 13, 2013 and then had two more operational periods on September 14, 2013 from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM and again on September 15, 2013 from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The Incident Command Structure (ICS) implemented during EOC operation was adjusted dynamically as personnel availability and operational periods changed. It comprised staff from City Utilities, City Police and the Poudre Fire Authority that provided support to Incident Command (IC) and all four General Staff (Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance) positions, with additional support from City Planning staff for evacuations transit operations, City GIS for mapping, cataloging and City website efforts, and City IT support for ongoing equipment and communications assistance. IC included Utilities staff as Incident Safety and Public Information Office. Other departments and agencies participating in EOC activities include City Streets, who managed bridge closures both in the City and in the County, and Engineering, who were consulted regarding Bridge safety. KEY ACTIONS During the event, contact was maintained using cellphones and desktop phones with field staff conducting operations in the field, and with associated emergency management personnel both under City jurisdiction and in Larimer County. The FWS data management software was used to collect and map rainfall and streamflow reports from gages, supplemented by website streamflow data available from the CDWR and the USGS. Storm behavior was monitored using licensed weather radar software as well as regular update phone briefings with National Weather Service forecasters. In addition, information flowed in from and was disseminated to the field from Utilities and Streets crews, Water and Wastewater Plant staff, Police, Fire/Emergency Responders, Larimer County Deputies, Poudre School district staff and other emergency response personnel. Based on the high flow conditions and potential for additional rainfall, EOC IC directed several Key Actions during the event:  9:00 PM September 12 – LETA-911 notification sent to commercial establishments (no residences present in flooding-threatened zone) along E. Vine and N College, along the south side of Mulberry Street east of Lemay Avenue, and to the Advanced Energy and Orthopedic Center of the Rockies area along East Prospect.  11:00 PM September 12 LETA-911 notification sent to residents in the Alta Vista, Buckingham and Andersonville neighborhoods requesting self-evacuation due the potential for inundation from the Poudre.  12:00 AM September 13 – EOC requests Streets Department On Call close traffic across all City bridges due to Poudre flow that continued to climb toward 10,000 cfs. Larimer County Dispatch was notified that this request included three County bridges: at ATTACHMENT 2 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Emergency Operations Center 2 of 3 Overland Trail, at Taft Hill road and at Shields Avenue. The Timberline Bridge remained open only for emergency vehicles and routed evacuation traffic.  3:00 AM September 13 evacuation request was issued via LETA-911 to residents in the Alta Vista, Buckingham and Andersonville neighborhoods, accompanied by messaging that transport was being arranged through TransFort, who delivered three buses to collect residents and carry them to the Red Cross Shelter at Timberline Church.  4:00 AM September 13 – EOC IC and Planning staff advise Darin Atteberry and PSD officials to close the Poudre School District schools for Friday, September 13.  4:30 AM - Since the City was effectively divided by bridge closures, Darin Atteberry requests PSD officials open a second shelter area at the Zavelli Elementary School to provide temporary support to citizens unable to mobilize to the Timberline Church.  8:00 AM - Poudre flow drops and determinations begin about the process to inspect and reopen bridges. PIO Staff continuously staffed the EOC in rotating shifts to maintain information flow and distribution to the public via the City Website, City media outlets and through social media (see Public Involvement Section, below). Planning Staff monitored weather information, rainfall and flow data, briefed Operations staff and other local, County, and State agency personnel with locations and magnitudes of expected flood impact and provided recommendations for closures of roads, bridges, schools, and other facilities. Staff contacted the Union Pacific Railroad to advise on removal of lodged debris on its Poudre trestles, and began planning recovery strategies and operations needs for post-flooding reconstruction and repair. GIS/Mapping staff provided updates to the public via the City website of road closures, and within the EOC coordinated documentation and archiving of flooding and flood damage photos. Operations Staff managed Utilities and other departmental field crew personnel for all phases of field operations, including road and bridge closures, protection of treatment facilities, excavation of a relief drainage channel on the New Mercer ditch, inspections of local utilities infrastructure for damage and debris monitoring during the event and debris removal post- high flow. Logistics Staff provided direct support to the EOC with food, materials, equipment and communications/IT service to maintain operations during the event, and coordinated communications along with EOC staff for County EOC operations and the anticipated involvement of FEMA in recovery operations. Finance Staff established preliminary charge accounts and billing numbers for Response, and Recovery activities (debris removal/management, damage estimating, repair/reconstruction of damaged infrastructure, equipment rental, storm evaluation data gathering that included groundwork and overflights). 2013 FORT COLLINS FLOOD AN EARLY RETROSPECTIVE Emergency Operations Center 3 of 3 REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Larimer County officials have upgraded their receipt of real-time rainfall and streamflow information via notifications from a private vendor and via website access to City FWS data. City EOC Planning and Operations assisted Larimer County emergency responders with reports of Poudre flow conditions on an as-requested basis during the event. PFA authorities established communication with FEMA via the Colorado Office of Emergency Management for formal request of response and recovery funds. A Presidential Disaster declaration was issued on Sunday, September 15. A 30-day extension application letter was submitted to FEMA by State OEM on October 6. Requests for Mutual Aid support were received by the EOC from the Towns of Estes Park, Evans, and Loveland, and from Larimer County during response operations. Mutual Aid was not rendered until the EOC was closed and recovery activities in Fort Collins commenced. All Mutual Aid requests were tracked by the Colorado OEM. INCIDENT MANAGEMENT AND DOCUMENTATION During and after the storm event all activities undertaken by the City were tracked recorded on FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) forms. For purposes of a unified command and communications system as well as for FEMA reimbursement purposes it was very important that the City use a common and reporting and documentation system. What is obvious from this last storm event is that the FEMA’s ICS command system has not been widely used throughout the City except for PFA, FCPD and the Utilities. Further training for all personnel involved in emergency operations should be pursued. A large amount of staff time was required to complete the tracking and documentation efforts. 1 City Council Work Session January 28, 2014 2013 Fort Collins Flood An Early Retrospective …… Insert photo here 2 2013 Fort Collins Flood STORMWATER MASTER PLANNING AND FLOODPLAIN ADMINISTRATION Chris Lochra Marsha Robinson Mark Kempton Brian Varrella Shane Boyle Ken Sampley Basil Hamdan Mark Taylor Beck Anderson 3 2013 Fort Collins Flood PRESENTATION OUTLINE • FLOOD EVENT OVERVIEW • CONTEXT OF THE FLOOD • WHAT WENT WELL • AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT • SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS • SUPPORT NEEDED 4 2013 Fort Collins Flood GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS 1. Does Council have specific questions regarding Fort Collins floodplain management program or the 2013 Flood Response and Recovery? 2. Does Council concur with the proposed list of suggested improvement actions? 5 LESSONS LEARNED - Flooding Happens !! - What went well / Areas for Improvement - Why were damages not as severe here? - Heaviest rainfall occurred to the west - Acquisition of properties in the Floodplain - Comprehensive Floodplain Management - Flood Warning System - Professional and Capable Staff - Increasing importance of Social Media 2013 Fort Collins Flood 6 2013 Fort Collins Flood Overview Poudre River at College Avenue -- September 13, 2013 7 Aerial photograph of College Avenue and Poudre River on Friday, Sept. 13, 2013 looking south toward Old Town. Stream gage at mouth of Poudre Canyon 2013 Fort Collins Flood Overview 8 Context of the Flood • Long-term drought • Complacency about flooding • New floodplain regulations • New Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan (ERPP) • TBL Analysis - Economic, social, and environmental considerations Planning Mitigation Preparedness Regulation 2012 High Park Fire, photo courtesy of Michael Menefee 2013 Fort Collins Flooding along the Poudre River 9 WHAT WENT WELL …. Floodplain Mitigation Natural & Beneficial Functions Parks in 100-year Floodplain (acres) Natural Areas in 100-year Floodplain (acres) Total Open Space Preserved (acres) 100-year Floodplain Inside City Limits (acres) 66% of the 100-year floodplain is preserved as Open Space 55 924 979 1,485 10 A top-ranked program nationally – Community Rating System (CRS) -- Class 4 Ranking – In the top 1% of SW/Floodplain Programs in U.S. – 30% Flood insurance Discounts Comprehensive activities – Capital improvements – Property buyouts – High floodplain standards – Flood warning system Poudre River looking downstream from the Mulberry St. Bridge 9/13/2013 WHAT WENT WELL …. Floodplain Mitigation Floodplain Management Program 11 Construction requirement = Elevate finish floor 2.0 ft above 100-Year Water Surface Elevation – Orthopedic Center of the Rockies – Neenan Construction – In-Situ High water mark Dry building entrance WHAT WENT WELL …. Floodplain Mitigation Minimal Structural Damage 12 Required for developed / redeveloped properties – Critical along the Lincoln Ave. corridor – In last 10 years, all properties in compliance – Reduced risks to properties and downstream neighbors WHAT WENT WELL …. Floodplain Mitigation Floatable Materials Standard 13 Removes properties at risk from the floodplain • Implemented in 2000 • For residential structures in floodway and flood fringe • For commercial structures in floodway • 4 Structures purchased to date • 2 Commercial (W of College) • 1 residence near College & Vine • 1 residence on Vine Dr WHAT WENT WELL …. Floodplain Mitigation Willing Seller, Willing Buyer Program 14 WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Table Top Exercise MAY 2013 -- POUDRE RIVER FLOODING • Approx. 50 staff from Fort Collins, Poudre Fire Authority, Larimer County OEM, CO Emergency Management, CDOT • Scenario à Flooding on the Poudre River and Debris Management • Exercise considered -- High Park Fire Impacts Clogged Bridges Damaged Roads/Highways EOC Operations Mutual Aid Agreements Emergency Plans 15 WHAT WENT WELL …. Upstream Flood Attenuation Poudre River Peak Discharge of 10,400 cfs at the Mouth of Canyon Gage Sept 13, 3:45 AM 16 Rainfall totals: September 9-16 Source: City of Fort Collins and City of Loveland Gage Data capture by Water-and Earth Technologies, MWS Publication 11.92 inches over High Park Fire burn in 7 days WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Warning System 17 48-hour Rainfall Totals as of Sept 13, 9:00AM WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Warning System 18 Replace photo Emergency Operations Center (EOC) -- Utility Service Center WHAT WENT WELL …. Emergency Operations Center 19 Oxbow levee -- September 13, 2013 Oxbow Levee WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Management Projects -- Levees 20 LPath North Spill -- September 13, 2013 Side-spill removes flow from the Poudre channel to safe locations WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Management Projects – LPath Spill 21 New for 2013 – “10-5 Outreach” before Flood Awareness Week – High Park Fire flash flood messages through summer Multiple platforms – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Facebook – Direct views = 178,872 people – Shared views = 264,967 people – 6,684 people “likes” – Gained 1,875 new page “likes” – Directly engaged 68,470 people Public “likes” on the City Facebook Page WHAT WENT WELL …. Social Media – Public Communications 22 Twitter – Gained 1,503 followers – Pre-flood = 6,889 followers – Post-flood = 8,392 followers – Posts reached 12-times the normal number of people – Retweets, modified tweets and favorites – 428 people mentioned the City in their posts YouTube – Videos posted as CityofFortCollins A “retweet” sends to all that person’s followers WHAT WENT WELL …. Social Media – Public Communications 23 Special website set up for storm info – http://www.fcgov.com/utilities/safety-and-security/2013- flood/ – Main platform for communication – Info updated regularly • Press releases • Help finding assistance • Other Agency contacts • Interactive maps (GIS) WHAT WENT WELL …. 2013 Flood Website 24 • Post-Flood Recovery • Debris deposition • Prospect Road / Riverbend • Udall Natural Area • McMurray Natural Area • Mulberry/Lemay Bridges • 1,720 tons of debris removed Est Total Costs à $ 190,000 Est FEMA Reimb à $ 142,500 CWCB Share à $ 23,750 Fort Collins à $ 23,750 Debris cleanup at Udall Natural Area WHAT WENT WELL …. Debris Management 25 Prospect Road west of the Poudre River Bridge WHAT WENT WELL …. Damage Assessments • Post-Flood Assessments began on Sept. 17th • Identification by • Field Observations • Photos/Videos • Aerial Photography • DARS Application • Documentation • Future Assessments 26 Bank sloughing near ELC Lincoln Avenue Bridge WHAT WENT WELL …. Damage Assessments 27 WHAT WENT WELL …. Flood Recovery Projects 18 FLOOD REPAIR PROJECTS Total Repair Costs = $ 804,000 FEMA / CO reimbursement = $ 421,000 NOTES: 1. Difference in costs due to mitigation measures necessary to protect against future floods 2. FEMA only pays to put back to pre-flood conditions plus small mitigation contribution 3. High flows in the river over winter have delayed some projects until fall 2014 28 AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT…. Training -- ICS and EOC 29 AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT…. EOC Environment and Equipment 30 AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT…. Mutual Aid Agreement / Operations Documents Formal Recovery Guide • Declarations • Forms • Cost Recovery Mutual Aid Documents • In place before incidents Debris Management Plan • Hurricane Sandy Amendments 31 Damaged stream gage upstream of Lincoln Avenue on Sept. 13, 2013 AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT…. Expansion of Flood Warning System 32 Introduction Lemay Avenue and Mulberry Street on Sept. 13, 2013 closed to all traffic. Shields Street Bridge over the Poudre River closed to traffic on Sept. 13, 2013. AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT…. Decision-Making Aids for Infrastructure 33 TRAINING LEAD • Incident Command System (ICS) • Roles and Responsibilities (Response Phase) OEM / FCU • Roles and Responsibilities (Recovery Phase) OEM / FCU • Forms and Documentation EOC / DEPTS • All Hazard Incident Management Teams PFA / OEM • Recovery Manuals and Training OEM / FCU / FINANCE • Mutual Aid Agreements and Training ATTY / OEM FLOOD-RELATED LEAD • Flood Warning System Expansion SW • Annual Table Top Exercises SW / PFA • Flood Warning On-Call Manual Updates SW • Infrastructure Decision-Making Aids SW / ENGR / STREETS SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS High Priority 34 TECHNOLOGY LEAD • EOC Access • Credentialing OEM / CITY OPS • Access Cards PFA / CITY OPS • EOC Facilities and Equipment OEM / CITY / FCU • Cell phone signal boost IT • EOC Software (i.e. WebEOC) OEM / IT • Internet / Wireless services PFA / IT • TV Monitors, printers, phones PFA / FCU / IT DEBRIS MANAGEMENT LEAD • Update Debris Management Plan FCU SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS Medium Priority 35 Suggested improvement actions cannot move forward and will not be completed unless they are a priority and value of the City. SUPPORT NEEDED City Council KEY ITEMS 1) Strong Floodplain Regulations 2) Floodplain Land Acquisitions 3) Training – ($$ and Staff Time) a) ICS / EOC b) Table Top Exercises 4) Mutual Aid Agreements 5) EOC Facilities and Equipment 36 2013 Fort Collins Flood GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS 1. Does Council have specific questions regarding Fort Collins floodplain management program or the 2013 Flood Response and Recovery? 2. Does Council concur with the proposed list of suggested improvement actions?