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
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
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
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
Recommended Citation
Ludolph, Nick, "September 2013, Colorado Front Range Flooding, and Impacts on Agriculture and Irrigation Infrastructure: A Case Study in the Left Hand Ditch System, Boulder County, Colorado" (2015). Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones. 53.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/geog_ms_capstone/53