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Douglas County officials describe flood, dam and gauge systems in briefing on emergency readiness
Summary
County staff briefed commissioners on flood-prevention sensors, dam networks and public alerting systems and urged residents to sign up for CodeRED; staff said local infrastructure and planning reduced flood insurance risk compared with other Front Range jurisdictions.
Douglas County commissioners heard a staff briefing July 8 on the county's flood-warning and mitigation systems, including stream gauges, an NRCS dam network and public alerting via CodeRED.
The update came after commissioners observed a moment of silence for flood victims elsewhere in the country and asked staff to explain how the county prepares for sudden flash floods and other emergencies.
Janet Herman, Public Works, introduced the topic and deferred technical detail to the county's rain-gauge lead. "Zach's our expert on our rain gauges," she said. Zach (Public Works/Office of Emergency Management staff) told the board the county has a long-established gauge network that feeds multiple emergency management organizations and supports FEMA disaster-mitigation planning. "Our alert network would be able to inform our OEM ... to start implementing disaster response planning," he said, describing how gauges provide lead time to warn residents and close vulnerable routes.
Zach said the county pairs the gauge network with an NRCS/SCS dams network that attenuates peak flows, and credited earlier mitigation work with keeping flood-insurance rates comparatively low on the Front Range. He also said increased cellular coverage and the alert network make it "much less" likely that recreationists in open space would be unreachable during a sudden event.
County officials urged residents to sign up for CodeRED and said staff work with HOAs and metro districts to distribute emergency notices.
The briefing closed with the commissioners thanking Public Works and the Office of Emergency Management and asking staff to continue public outreach about alerts and evacuation planning.
Less critical details: staff recommended continuing to expand gauge coverage and public education; no formal action was taken at the meeting.
