Date of Award

5-2015

Document Type

Masters Capstone Project

Degree Name

M.S. in Geographic Information Science

Organizational Unit

College of Natural Science and Mathematics, Geography and the Environment

Keywords

Boulder County Colorado, Flooding, Agriculture, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Abstract

Flooding can cause massive harm to the agricultural sector by flooding fields and damaging the infrastructure that is essential for agricultural activities. Crops are often lost and repairs may be necessary to restore irrigation systems to functional status. This research aims to quantify the damages and losses experienced from the unprecedented September 2013 flooding event in Boulder County Colorado’s Left Hand Ditch Company service area. Damages are cataloged and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies were used to estimate economic impact and determine the landscape characteristics of lands where the highest rates of flooding occurred. Alfalfa and non-alfalfa hays experienced the greatest losses with flooding most common in Western Great Plains Riparian Woodlands and Shrublands and Agricultural lands. Flooding was most common in lower elevation areas with shallower slopes. Manter sandy loam, Calkins sandy loam, and Niwot soils were the soil types for that experienced the most widespread flooding.

Copyright Date

5-1-2015

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Nick Ludolph

Provenance

Received from author

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

54 pgs

File Size

1.6 MB

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