Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for Pueblo County, Colorado
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NATURAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN FOR PUEBLO COUNTY, COLORADO JURISDICTIONS WITHIN PUEBLO COUNTY: Beulah, City of Pueblo, Colorado City Metropolitan District, Pueblo County, Pueblo West Metropolitan District, Town of Rye, Town of Boone Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services Bureau Special Thanks to FEMA, DPS, CDHSEM for providing support to enable the development and implementation of this plan. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following agencies and organizations contributed information or have provided reference material that is used or referred to in this Pueblo County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP). Their contributions were critical to the development of this document. Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District (Beulah FP&AD) Board of Water Works of Pueblo City of Pueblo Colorado City Metropolitan District Colorado State Forest Service Colorado State Parks/Lake Pueblo Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Local governments included: ● Community development ● Emergency managers ● Fire ● Geographic Information Systems ● Planning ● Law Enforcement ● Public works Mountain Park Environmental Center – Pueblo Mountain Park National Weather Service Pueblo (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration-NOAA) Pine Drive Water District - Beulah Pueblo City-County Health Department Pueblo County Pueblo West Metropolitan District St. Charles Mesa Water District Town of Rye U.S. Bureau of Reclamation U.S. Department of Agriculture – Farm Service Agency Input on the plan was also solicited from other organizations and agencies including: ● Insurance Agencies ● Local chambers of commerce ● Neighborhood associations ● Schools 2 Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION 5 Purpose and Need ................................................................................................................... 5 Scope ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Authority ................................................................................................................................. 6 Relationship to Other Emergency Management Activities .................................................... 8 Other Supporting FEMA Programs ......................................................................................... 8 Relationship to Other Regional and Community Plans .......................................................... 8 Public Involvement Activities .................................................................................................. 9 Plan Development Process and Local Government Participants ......................................... 10 II. COMMUNITY PROFILE 14 Geography and Environment ................................................................................................ 14 Population and Demographics .............................................................................................. 14 Land and Development ......................................................................................................... 15 Housing and Community Development ................................................................................ 22 Economy and Employment ................................................................................................... 22 Income and Poverty .............................................................................................................. 23 Transportation Infrastructure and Utilities .......................................................................... 23 III. RISK ASSESSMENT 25 The Risk Assessment Process ................................................................................................ 25 Community Asset and Critical Facilities Inventory ............................................................... 28 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 28 Beulah Fire Protection and Ambulance District response data over the past 3 years was used for cost statistics in their District. ................................................................................ 29 Vulnerable Populations ......................................................................................................... 29 Other Community Assets ...................................................................................................... 29 IV. Natural Hazard Profiles 30 A. Drought ............................................................................................................................. 32 USDA Disaster Declarations for Colorado ............................................................................. 35 Future Impacts: ..................................................................................................................... 36 B. Flood ................................................................................................................................. 37 Climate Projections and Colorado’s Water Resources ......................................................... 40 Flood Damage Prevention .................................................................................................... 40 The Pueblo Community Waterways ..................................................................................... 41 Streams in the Pueblo Area .................................................................................................. 41 3 Pueblo County Flooding History ........................................................................................... 44 Pueblo County Levees ........................................................................................................... 47 C. Severe Weather Hazards .................................................................................................. 50 D. Tumbleweeds .................................................................................................................... 66 E. Wildland Fire ..................................................................................................................... 67 F. Zoonotic Disease ............................................................................................................... 80 Control Measures .................................................................................................................. 83 Mitigation of Vectors after a Disaster................................................................................... 84 V. MITIGATION STRATEGY 86 General .................................................................................................................................. 86 Assumptions: ......................................................................................................................... 86 Hazard Mitigation Goals, Objectives, and Actions................................................................ 87 Goals ..................................................................................................................................... 87 Actions .................................................................................................................................. 87 Prioritization and Benefit Cost Review ................................................................................. 90 Mitigation Actions ................................................................................................................. 90 Funding Options .................................................................................................................. 117 Other Mitigation Planning Efforts ....................................................................................... 117 VI. Plan Maintenance Procedures 118 Adoption by Participating Jurisdictions .............................................................................. 118 Implementation through Existing Programs ....................................................................... 118 Continued Public Involvement ............................................................................................ 119 VII. ADOPTION DOCUMENTATION 120 VIII. REFERENCES 126 APPENDIX A NHMP Committee Membership APPENDIX B Planning Process APPENDIX C Glossary ATTACHMENT 1 Public Involvement ATTACHMENT 2 Pueblo County Code ATTACHMENT 3 City of Pueblo Code ATTACHMENT 4 Pueblo Dam 4 I. INTRODUCTION Natural hazards in Pueblo County historically are associated with significant disasters resulting in loss of life and property. The rising cost of natural disasters, in terms of loss of human life and injuries, and property and natural resources damage, has led to a renewed interest in identifying effective ways to reduce vulnerability to disasters. The purpose of this plan is to identify natural hazards and the people and places at risk at a countywide scale and then identify locally implemented actions and measures to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from natural hazards and their effects. The plan provides a comprehensive set of existing and planned local government action items to achieve County goals of reducing risk from natural hazards. These actions include preventative measures such as increasing public awareness, measures to protect property and natural resources, and enhance emergency services and structural assets. Planning for such hazards and undertaking mitigation measures can reduce the loss of life and property. This section of the Pueblo