City of Longmont’s Resilient St. Vrain Project
The Takeaways
Work from the beginning to get buy-in from the community.
Identify and form partnerships with appropriate local, state, and federal groups/agencies.
Doing work up front can help expedite the process of receiving project funding.
The Case Study
In 2011, the City of Longmont updated the mapping of its floodplains. What they found concerned them: with updated data and analysis, they learned that the 100-year floodplain, the area where there is a 1% chance of flooding in any given year, was much larger than the existing Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) maps showed. Then the 2013 floods came and were together the most significant flood event in the City’s history. The City knew that it had to start taking action right away to make the St. Vrain Creek, and the community, more resilient against future flooding events.
Following the 2013 floods, Longmont set out to make the St. Vrain Creek channel more resilient to future flood events. The Resilient St. Vrain Project (RSVP) is a multi-year effort to improve the St. Vrain Creek’s channel and surrounding areas in preparation for any future flooding. The project will increase channel capacity and reduce the size of the St. Vrain Creek floodplain using environmentally-sound, natural design techniques.
The RSVP has four main goals:
The RSVP will help protect people and property.
The RSVP will protect and enhance natural environments.
The RSVP will incorporate existing planning efforts.
The RSVP will restore the St. Vrain Greenway.
While the RSVP is still underway currently, Nick Wolfrum, from Longmont’s Public Works and Natural Resources department, has found three key lessons learned from the Project that have helped it achieve success so far. These lessons are: to get buy-in from the community, to form partnerships with appropriate agencies, and to complete some work upfront to help expedite the process of receiving project funding.
Want more information?
View a timeline of the project and updates on road and trail closures.
For more information contact Nick Wolfrum, the Engineering Services Manager with Public Works and Natural Resources for Longmont.