►
From YouTube: Boulder Flood: One Year Later
Description
City of Boulder motion graphic summarizing the September 2013 flood and community recovery efforts that followed.
A
September
2013,
the
clouds
gathered,
the
drops
began
to
fall
and
they
didn't
stop
until
Boulder
had
received
nearly
a
year's
worth
of
rain
in
only
eight
days
so
where
we
prepare
what
really
happened
and
what
lies
ahead.
First,
let's
look
at
the
facts.
Boulder
is
the
number
one
flash
flood
risk
community
in
Colorado,
so
our
city's
been
preparing
for
a
long
time.
It
started
back
in
1910
when
prominent
planner,
Frederick
Law
Olmstead
jr.
A
recommended
that
Boulder
Creek
be
lined
with
a
park,
not
buildings,
to
limit
structural
damage
in
case
of
a
flood,
then
in
the
1950s
Gilbert
F
wife,
the
father
of
floodplain
management,
guided
the
city
with
his
philosophy
that
flood
mitigation
should
follow
the
natural
environment.
In
the
last
15
years
alone,
Boulder
has
spent
more
than
forty
four
point:
eight
million
dollars
on
projects
built
on
the
blueprint
of
our
community,
such
as
scenic
Creekside,
bike
paths
that
double
as
water
channels
during
a
flood.
A
Now
you
may
be
surprised
to
learn
that
the
September
2013
storm
wasn't
the
big
flash
flood
we've
been
planning
for,
but
it
was
a
whole
lot
of
rain.
The
National
Weather
Service
called
it
a
1,000
year,
precipitation
event,
meaning
there's
only
a
1
in
1,000
chance
of
this
happening
any
given
year.
It
was
simply
unprecedented
in
eight
days,
Boulder
received
more
than
18
inches
of
rain,
all
15
major
creeks
and
23
irrigation
ditches,
flooded
and
overwhelmed
our
storm
drainage
and
sanitary
sewer
systems.
A
14
percent
of
Boulder
households
were
hit,
causing
300
million
dollars
in
private
Robert
damage
and
the
destruction
reached
15%
of
our
paved
paths,
34%
of
city
parks
and
100%
of
open
space
trails.
But
despite
it
all
Boulder
was
prepared.
Critical
water
and
wastewater
treatment
facilities
stayed
operational
throughout
the
flood
drainage
ways
under
passes
and
paths
successfully
conveyed
flood
waters
through
town
and
away
from
properties.
A
Thousands
of
feet
of
drain
pipe
and
720
tons
of
Creek
debris
were
cleared
in
1700
volunteers,
work
more
than
7,000
hours
to
help,
and
now,
as
we
look
to
the
future,
this
flood
has
given
us
concrete
data
that
helps
us
prioritize
our
efforts.
So
while
we
can't
disaster
proof
Boulder,
we
can
remain
resilient
against
flooding,
fire
drought
and
other
dangers.
Now
is
the
time
to
learn
from
what
happened
and
better
prepare
for
what
might
together,
we
will
move
ahead
instead
of
falling
back
and
no
matter
what
we
will
endure.