Crews Work To Prevent Flooding Along Poudre River
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4)- Record snowpack in Colorado's mountains is raising concerns that the spring runoff could result in flooding along the Front Range.
The state snowpack is at 160 percent of normal. In northwest Colorado those levels are nearly twice the average.
Along the Poudre River in Larimer and Weld Counties, work is under way to prevent the water from getting too high. Crews are removing trees and other debris that could block the flow of water and cause levels to creep up.
"It's anticipated to be higher than last year. A substantial amount. So we have some concerns," said Greeley Public Works Director Joel Hemesath. "We've been working the last month or so clearing trees, vegetation, taking out trash."
The debris that takes months to build up can cause big problems in a short amount of time.
"Some of the debris can float, especially the older stuff. It can back up against bridges, it can back up and flood other things," said Hemesath. 
One man who lives along the Poudre River in LaPorte is concerned about the spring melt.
"It worries me that if it warms up fast then everything starts coming down," said Larimer County Resident Jim Brinks.
In Fort Collins, floodwarning engineers are tracking the river's levels.
"We're looking at a map of the flood warning system for the city of Fort Collins. This is actually a network of gauges," said Fort Collins Floodwarning Engineer Chris Lochra.
Sixty-five gauges will help Fort Collins monitor the runoff in real time. But the best monitoring technology can't predict if big snowpack will cause big problems. It all depends on the weather.
"This year we seem to be lacking snow down low, so I'm not sure. We could still get a rapid warming of the snow and if we get rain on that it would be the ingredients for big flow," said Lochra.
In Greeley, the city has filled sandbags, 1,500 of them, and there are 24,000 empty bags ready to be filled.
