The city of Colorado Springs, Colo., has received two grants totaling $4.6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stabilize two creek banks and control erosion caused by flooding in 2013 and 2015.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the first grant of $2,612,325 will be used on a bank stabilization project along an 1,100-ft stretch of Douglas Creek south of Garden of the Gods Road. Currently, that eroding stream bank poses a threat to a nearby interstate, two commercial properties and infrastructure. After the restoration is completed, the waterway is expected to be able to withstand a 100-year flood.
The second grant totals $2,005,125 and will be applied to stabilizing a 1,750-ft section of Pine Creek. The project seeks to reduce the amount of sediment flowing downstream and protect nearby properties. The Pine Creek project will also include an upstream retention pond to prevent flash flooding and erosion.
Overall, the grants will fund 75% of the two projects, with work expected to cost more than $6.1 million, according to local news source KRDO.
The city currently is in the process of a lawsuit over the city’s violations of its federal storm water permit, which was filed in Nov. 2016 by the U.S. EPA and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and later joined by Pueblo County and the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy. The city may face millions of dollars in penalties, with more alleged violations yet to be argued in court.
