Publisher's Synopsis
The Fountain Creek watershed drainage network currently is a highly dynamic system arising from (1) the potential for very high rainfall rates (orographic induced along the Palmer Divide and the Rampart Range (fig. 1) (Doesken and others, 2003; Meister, 2010), (2) easily eroded alluvium along the valley bottoms east of the foothills (Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District, 2011), and (3) very rapid urban development. Very rapid urban development has the potential to exacerbate the rainfall runoff rates, increase storm runoff peaks, and undermine the natural geomorphic protections against uncontrolled incision provided by bed armoring and floodplain vegetation and the resulting sedimentation in the lower reaches of the watershed (Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District, 2011).