Floods in Boulder?
“If you live, work or play in Boulder you are at risk. The city of Boulder has the greatest potential for loss of life from flash flood of any community in
Colorado.”
“If you live, work or play in Boulder you are at risk. The city of Boulder has the greatest potential for loss of life from flash flood of any community in
Colorado.”This direct quote from the City of Boulder website gives us a reason to pause and think about our surroundings when the clouds turn dark and the mountains disappear in the rain. Canyon Blvd. is also known as Water Street. This is not a coincidence. The attached photo shows high water in Boulder in 1906. The statisticians and insurance agents talk about the 100 year flood, my calculations tell me that we are just about due.
Obviously flood water affects real estate, but in Boulder many homes that thought they were out of the floodplain may soon be in it. The City of Boulder recently studied the floodplain of South Boulder Creek and have voted to send their new findings on to FEMA. If the new flood maps are accepted by FEMA 734 homes will be placed into the 100 year flood plain! These homes are mostly in East Boulder and are seemingly a long way from South Boulder Creek. The impacts on these homeowners when enacted by FEMA, would be the requirement for flood insurance. Apparently it takes about a year for the flood maps to be revised and in the meantime potential buyers would need to do their own research through the City of Boulder in order to assess whether flood insurance will be required in the future.
If you are interested in seeing if your property may be included in the designated area you can go to http://www.southbouldercreek.com and click on ArcIMS. You can also view the entire study when you are there.
