Loveland Emergency Water Line Protection and Flood Recovery

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As a result of the September 2013 floods, two of the three water lines feeding the City of Loveland had been damaged, and the one remaining line was in danger of being undermined and damaged by the raging Big Thompson River, which had changed its course. Within four hours of responding to the emergency, the Ayres team, along with staff from the City, had a conceptual plan to push the river back to its original location. By the following evening the river had been moved back under very difficult flood-flow conditions, saving the City’s water supply through an earth-moving effort. The design and permitting processes for this work normally would have taken years to complete.

Ayres staff also joined Loveland’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), working all hours to troubleshoot problems, particularly with damaged utilities, and to begin navigating through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) process. Other staff members assisted with geomorphic flood damage assessment and determined the peak flow rate of the event, using high water measurements taken just after the flood.

Project Information

Client's Name

City of Loveland

Location

Loveland, CO

Primary Service

Civil + Municipal Engineering

Market

Local Government