Cleanup, repairs continue in Security-Widefield after Wednesday’s flash flooding

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Heavy rain Wednesday that caused widespread flash flooding damage in Security-Widefield did not return Thursday afternoon, giving crews and homeowners time to finish cleanup and repairs.

Many residents say the area seems particularly vulnerable to flash flooding, asking why and what can be done to prevent it.

Officials revealed Thursday that a drainage ditch clogged with trash and other debris was a major factor in flooding at the intersection of Dix Circle and Libby Court.

"We always have flooding on the main streets but this is the first time I've seen it this bad in a neighborhood," one homeowner said.

Troy Wiitala, highway manager for El Paso County, said that Security-Widefield is a flat area that sometimes doesn't drain well and wasn't built to handle the amount of heavy rain it occasionally receives in the summer.

"The thing to remember is you can't feasibly build a drainage system that can handle large amounts of rain in a short period of time," he said. "The best we can do is clear clogged drainage ditches and ask people not to throw trash or anything else into those channels."

Homeowners were waiting to learn the result of a large washout of landscaping in the Dix-Libby neighborhood.

"It's right between my property line and my neighbor's," said Jamie Buitentorb, who lives near the damaged area. "We don't know yet if we'll have to pay for the damage or if insurance will cover it. The county told us to wait a few days and let them evaluate the situation. All I could do Wednesday was sit in my garage and watch how the water flooded everything."

Most of the floodwater apparently stayed in the street and caused little to no damage on private property.

Crews also repaired a large section of washed-out pavement on Holly Drive.

Lawrence Seales lives there and spent the day walking back and forth to his home and to an area around the block where flooding moved his landscaping rocks.

"I need to get bigger rocks to keep this from happening every time we get a heavy rain," he said.

The county has yet to come up with a plan for repairing damaged concrete in a drainage channel that flows north-south through Security-Widefield.

The flooding knocked down fences, cracked sections of sidewalk, eroded large amounts of soil and deposited a layer of dirt and sand on many streets.