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Pueblo West seeks additional funding, resources to reduce flash flooding risk

PUEBLO WEST, Colo. (KRDO) -- This rural community's Metropolitan District, which is responsible for maintaining roads and drainage, is coping with a backlog of needs that would significantly reduce flash flooding on numerous roads.

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One of the most common areas for flooding is along Platteville Boulevard, near the intersection of Bronco Lane; it was temporarily closed earlier this week because of high water and a segment even washed away during a previous flood and required repairs.

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On Wednesday, district director Christian Heyn told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that a 2012 study identified $75 million in upgrades to roads and drainage infrastructure -- a cost that likely has doubled or tripled, given today's costs and inflation.

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Heyn said that the district receives only a small amount from local property taxes and Pueblo County -- an amount that was sufficient when the community was established in 1969 but has fallen short now, with increases in growth and development.

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Heyn also said that his staff should be two or three times bigger to perform maintenance and repair duties more frequently.

As recently as 2018, the district tried to ask residents to support a tax increase to help pay for upgrades, but was unsuccessful and the time may have come to make another request.

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"They were looking at stormwater utility fees or impact fees, and they were looking at a stormwater utility enterprise that would be able to, hopefully, fund some of these projects that would come over time," Heyn explained. "The study lists 472 projects needed when the build-out of Pueblo West is completed a few years from now."

Some residents said that they are open to the idea but others oppose it, saying that extensive upgrades likely would be too expensive.

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"We live in a rural area, and I just think we have to let the water flow naturally and not build so close to these natural drainages," said homeowner Craig Ravenkamp. "With as spread-out as Pueblo west is and with all the drainages flowing through it, I can't see how we can afford to do everything that needs to be done."

Rose Ponce, who has spent her life living along Platteville, disagrees.

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"I know a tax increase would be a little bit more, but it's going to do a lot more help than do a little bit of harm to your wallet," she said. "Especially when you consider the safety of kids. When it floods as is it did Sunday, kids can't walk home from school and drivers can't get home."

The district is also in the process of applying for a standard state stormwater permit to help manage drainage infrastructure; if successful, the district would become one of only a few in Colorado to have the permit.

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The time has come, Heyn said, to be more proactive regarding drainage improvements and not depend on runoff to naturally drain over time.

"Once we get that permit, hopefully sometime next year, we'll be better able to decide which direction to take," he said.

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The district spends between $50,000 and $100,000 annually for road and drainage projects; one recent project in on Purcell Boulevard, north of U.S. 50, where the road was improved and raised above a creek that occasionally flooded.

Heyn added that flash flooding normally is more of a concern in the community's less-developed area north of U.S. 50, but there are a total of 12 basins that drain through Pueblo West.

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However, the more developed southern section has its share of flooding damage, as well; Sunday night's rainstorm washed out landscaping at numerous homes along Palmer Lake Drive and repeated floods are eroding the street.

"This happens every time we get a heavy rain," said homeowner Mike Wilkinson. "Sometimes it even washes out everything in my backyard. It would be nice to prevent it from happening. If it takes a tax increase, I'm all for it."

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Some homeowners said that the district should build more retention basins that temporarily hold runoff and gradually release it into the drainage system; Heyn said that the district already has nearly 200 retention ponds and requires new development to submit drainage plans prior to approval.

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Scott Harrison

Scott is a reporter for KRDO. Learn more about Scott here.

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