Solution to Stormwater Canyon near in Colorado Springs

The installation of a drainage pipe appears to be the solution for a longtime erosion and flooding problem that has affected two city neighborhoods.

Tim Mitros, stormwater manager for Colorado Springs, revealed the plan to address what’s been called the “Stormwater Canyon” in the Pinecliff area west of Interstate 25 between Garden of the Gods Road, and Rockrimmon Boulevard.

The canyon was formed by gradual erosion from water runoff at the Pebblewood Townhomes on Golden Hills Road. The erosion also is slowly eroding the edges of the cliff in front of the complex.

“The developer designed water to run off the cliff when the complex was approved and built back in the 1990s,” Mitros said. “So the developer isn’t responsible for the problem.”

Debris from the erosion has clogged a storm sewer below the cliff, Mitros said, and has contributed to occasional flooding around homes near Popes Valley Drive.

“There is a drainage system down below but there was never a connection from the top to the bottom,” Mitros said. “So that’s what we’re going to do now. We’re going to make that connection (with a drainage pipe) so that the water doesn’t pick up the dirt and the sediment, and can erode the side of the cliff.”

Mitros said the city will spend around $600,000 to install the pipe, clear the storm sewer and repair the damaged cliff.

Zaid Alatarr, a college student who recently moved into Pebblewood, said he’s not concerned about living on the edge of the cliff.

“It seems hard to believe that erosion could actually make a home slide down the cliff,” he said. “But I guess it could happen. I feel for the people who live below the cliff, that’s for sure. It seems like a good plan. I hope it works.”