Food replacement available to those receiving assistance
Sep 17th
Federal program allows replacement of food lost due to flooding
Boulder County, Colo. – The federal program that provides food assistance to those who qualify for it will replace food lost due to the recent flooding in Boulder County. The replacement funds are available to those who are currently receiving food assistance, and covers food purchased using September Food Assistance benefits.
The recent severe flooding has cut off many Boulder County residents’ access to their food supplies, and in some cases has led to the spoilage or destruction of food. Those who purchased some of their food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the month of September and have now lost some of it due to the flooding may fill out an affidavit requesting replacement of the funds.
“It’s difficult enough to get the food and other help you need during a disaster like this,” said Larraine Archuleta, director of the Community Support Division of the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS). “We want to be sure those who qualify for these replacement benefits have every opportunity to receive them.”
The value of the food assistance replacement will be based on the purchases made in September through the SNAP program.
Residents who feel they may qualify for the replacement food assistance should contact BCDHHS’ Community Support Manager Lynn Grey at lgrey@bouldercounty.org or 303-441-1000. Those seeking the replacement will need to sign an affidavit, which can be done via email, mail, or in person at one of the BCDHHS locations in Boulder or Longmont once they have been contact by Lynn Grey.
Emergency Operations Center Public Information line: 303-413-7730
Emergency Operations Center Media Line: 720-564-2935 (Media/PIOs Only – Not for Public Dissemination)
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Backed up sewer system raises it’s UGLY head
Sep 15th
Boulder continues to address sanitary sewer system issues citywide
Boulder residents continue to report that water or sewage is backing up into their homes. In most cases, this is groundwater and floodwater, not untreated wastewater (sewage).
However, if residents see or smell solid waste:
- They should evacuate, if possible, as raw sewage represents a health and sanitation risk: and
- Report the backup to the Emergency Call Center at 303-413-7730 and ask that the issue be reported to City of Boulder Public Works crews.
These backups could still be the result of issues on private property, but the city would like to gather the information to determine if it indicates a system failure.
The city understands resident frustration about this issue, but the sanitary sewer system is particularly challenging to address for a number of reasons:
- The city has approximately 355 miles of sanitary sewer lines (pipes) and approximately 9,200 sanitary sewer manholes;
- A large portion of this system has been impacted by floodwaters and access manholes remain under water and inaccessible;
- The collection system (pipes) continues to carry a large amount of flood water, groundwater, mud, and debris; and
- The system functions by gravity and flows downhill to the wastewater treatment plant on 75th Street east of the city.
In order to address system-wide issues, the city must focus on low-lying areas first, which will hopefully become more and more feasible as floodwaters recede. This initial action is necessary as system back-ups (downstream) affects system functionality (upstream). While property owners farther from the creek may not see crews working adjacent to their properties, efforts occurring downstream are needed to restore overall system functionality and relieve backups in their area.
The city continues to urge water conservation measures by all city water customers (residents and businesses); minimizing water use and discharges to the sanitary sewer system will help mitigate impacts to affected residents and preserve the city’s water supply.
During the next few days, the city hopes to make significant progress on restoring system functionality as weather conditions improve and floodwaters recede. Updated information will be available as the city is able to access additional low-lying areas and assess conditions.
For more information, visit www.BoulderOEM.com. To report raw sewage in your home, please call the Emergency Call Center at 303-413-7730 and ask that the issue be reported to City of Boulder Public Works crews.
–CITY–
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From our mountain neighbors: road damage and homes on the brink
Sep 15th
- Town of Nederland Road Conditions Update at 11:20am Please be advised — roads are softening across the town due to the ongoing rains. Some areas are inaccessible — including the Big Springs neighborhood at Peakview Road and at the intersection of Alpine and Big Springs Drive. All residents are urged to stay off all roads. Do not attempt to drive around any cones or barricades.
- Magnolia Road Update at 11:45am: #97 between Magnolia Rd and #72 is now impassable. Road is flooded and washed away in spots.
None of these images is of his area nor house, but it’ll give you the confirmation that one of the major problems is and will be the severely eroded and continuing to erode soil …. His short email says it all for them :
Coal Creek Canyon
Here are a few photos taken on our walk through Blue Mt. yesterday. We are just one small community of hundreds affected by this epic storm. I’m sure the cost of it all will be into the billions. Coal Creek Canyon just to our west is washed out and will take months to repair, stranding the few thousand folks on the west side of the washouts. They will still be able to get out, but it will take an hour or two to get to work, normally a 30 or 40 minute drive. The only impact to us so far is the loss of natural gas so cold showers and no heat, not that we need heat right now. Unseen are the tens of thousands of flooded basements in neighborhoods that from the street look unaffected. Damage for each of those will be in the thousands to replace carpets and furniture. Few of us have flood insurance. Just last week we were worried about the threat of fire.
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