PUEBLO COUNTY — The aftermath of flash flooding earlier this week is showing up across parts of Southern Colorado, especially in areas along Fountain Creek.
The creek stretches nearly 75 miles from Teller County to Pueblo County where it feeds into the Arkansas River. It is a usual suspect for erosion during heavy rainfall.
Cathy Todd, a resident of Pueblo County, said her barn along Overton Road used to be five acres from Fountain Creek. After years of erosion, the creek has swallowed her property, leaving her barn hanging over the edge.
"Each time it floods, it comes closer and closer and takes out a lot of my property," said Todd. "I've talked to a few people to see if anybody can help me and I can't get anybody to pay attention or to offer any kind of assistance."
The Fountain Creek Watershed District is in charge of flood control and managing the watershed. Allison Schuch, the executive director, said there is not much the district can do immediately to help property owners curb erosion.
"I have been hearing from several landowners about these kinds of issues and their worry about the creek encroaching on their property. It's just very unfortunate that we don't have a sustainable funding plan in place right now," she said.
Schuch said the watershed district is currently engaged in planning to look at ways to source funding for more projects along the creek to help with erosion.
"We're looking at different funding structures. Could it be a mill levy? Could it be a sales tax? We're looking for grants, but that's very limiting. So we need some sort of long-term, sustainable funding," she said.
She said the Fountain Creek Watershed District received $700,000 in grant funds from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and $600,000 from the City of Fountain to move forward with the Southmoor Drive Project in Fountain. The district will cover the remaining $3 million needed for the project to address erosion eating away at the nearby property.
In the meantime, Todd and her family said they are stuck wondering how much more property they will lose. Todd said she is worried her 92-year-old mother's home on the other side of the creek will be next to go.
The watershed district says the plan for gathering more funding to curb erosion should be ready in a few months. That plan will be presented to communities for feedback. News5 will continue to follow that process and provide updates when available.
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