Area flood control projects hold up after heavy rain Thursday

As the water began to rise in Cheyenne Creek during Thursday’s rainstorm, homeowner Cheryl Guthrie wondered if it would get as high as it did during the historic flash floods of September 2013.

“We got about 8 feet of water in our basement,” said Guthrie, one of many homeowners who live on the creek banks. “We lost our patio. Our banks and rock walls were gone.”

Guthrie pointed to a boulder in the middle of the creek, on the city’s southwest side.

“You couldn’t see that (Thursday),” she said. “It was under water.”

Fortunately, the creek remained in its banks and there was no flood.

That’s because a number of flood control projects built since last fall worked properly, said engineers for Colorado Springs and El Paso County.

Tim Mitros, the city’s stormwater manager, and Andre Brackin, county engineer, said there were no unexpected problems from the latest storm.

The city and county built several retention ponds to slow the flow of water through creeks, and to trap debris and sediment to keep them out of neighborhood drainages.

The city also repaired flood damage in Cheyenne Creek.

Guthrie said most of her neighbors are satisfied with the projects.

“To make things look like they did before, there’s more that we need to do,” she said. “But it held through the heavy rain (Thursday), so we felt fairly confident.”

County spokesman Dave Rose said area governments have spent around $50 million on flood recovery and an estimated 70 more projects are needed.

Mitros and Brackin agree that the area still has many stormwater needs, which are different from major flood-mitigation projects, but stormwater issues were minor after Thursday’s storm.