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Fountain Creek is a stream that originates in Woodland Park in Teller County and flows through El Paso County to its confluence with the
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United ...
near
Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
in
Pueblo County, Colorado Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanis ...
. The creek,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 31, 2011
once known as the Fontaine qui Bouille, is a tributary of the
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United ...
.


Geography

The Fountain Creek Watershed—located in Teller, El Paso, and Pueblo counties—is in area. Its borders are
Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...
, the Palmer Divide and a minor divide east of Colorado Springs. Monument Creek, which originates on Rampart Range, is the main tributary. Other key tributaries are Sand Creek and Jimmy Camp Creek. Fountain Creek and its tributaries flow through Woodland Park,
Green Mountain Falls The Town of Green Mountain Falls is a Statutory Town located in El Paso and Teller counties of the U.S. of State of Colorado. The town population was 646 at the 2020 United States Census with 622 residents in El Paso County and 24 residents i ...
,
Palmer Lake Palmer Lake is a Statutory Town in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Palmer Lake was founded by General William Jackson Palmer in 1871 and was incorporated in 1889. Palmer Lake is one of thr ...
,
Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
,
Manitou Springs Manitou Springs is a home rule municipality located at the foot of Pikes Peak in western El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded for its natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers ...
,
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, and
Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
. Fountain Creek's elevation ranges from from Pikes Peak to where it meets the Arkansas River in Pueblo. With the significant elevation changes, there are diverse ecosystems and extreme temperature and precipitation variations.


Recreation areas

Within the watershed are regional and local parks, including the
Fountain Creek Regional Park and Nature Center Fountain Creek Regional Park and Nature Center is a park and nature center in Fountain, El Paso County, Colorado near Colorado Springs. Overview The park is free with a nature center and nature trails for hiking, leashed pet walking and horseback ...
in Fountain and the Whitewater Kayak Park in Pueblo, and creekside trails that are used for jogging, hiking, bicycle riding, and viewing wildlife. A future project is the Fountain Creek Eco-Fit Education Park, which is to be located in Colorado Springs, south of the El Pomar Youth Sports Park on 40 acres donated by the City of Colorado Springs in 2011. Connected to areas along the creek using webcam and other Internet technology, the Fountain Creek Eco-Fit Education Park, will provide a means for visitors to learn about the creek through hands-on and interactive play. Fly fisherman have begun to work together in 2019 to bring awareness to Fountain Creek. Through their continuous efforts, fishing has been brought forward as a primary recreational activity on Fountain Creek. Note: catch and release fishing due to poor water quality.


Water quality


1999 sewage spill

In 1999, 70 million gallons of raw
sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from reside ...
spilled into the creek at
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
during a flood. Due to a blockage, sewage backed up into houses and wastewater pipes in the sewer system were cracked. "That wiped out our whole wastewater system... We lost about 68 million gallons of wastewater – untreated sewage," said Steve Berry, a spokesman for Colorado Springs Utilities. Between 1988 and 2003, there was a total of 74 million gallons of raw sewage that spilled into Fountain Creek. There were continued sewage spills in 2004. In 2005, there were more than 300,000 gallons of nonpotable water and sewage spills, which resulted in a fine of $130,000 to Colorado Springs Utilities by the Colorado Department of Health. Another 44,000 gallon raw sewage spill into Shooks Run and Fountain Creek on January 5, 2006, producing elevated levels of ''E. coli'' in Fountain Creek, resulted in a $10,000 fine for the utility and a required evaluation for how the utility managed sewage blockages within its system. Changes required of the utility to improve the sewage system could cost up to $40 million by 2012. In total, the utility expects to spend $250 million by 2025 to improve its sewer system and prevent sewage spills into Fountain Creek. According to ''The Gazette'' in 2007, untreated sewage spills into the creek an average of 10 times every year. Most of the sewage spills occurred before 2006, but there were still spills and penalties through 2011. The sewage spills polluted the Creek, which was of particular concern to downstream users, like the City of Pueblo. Tests between 2007 and 2009 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found levels of the '' E. coli'' bacterium above the safe limit in
Ruxton Creek Ruxton Creek is a stream in Manitou Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. Named for British explorer and writer of the southwest, George Fredrick Augustus Ruxton, it is one of three main drainage basins in Manitou Springs. Ruxton Creek flows out ...
, Fountain Creek near Green Mountain Falls, and Fountain Creek near 8th Street. The ''E. coli'' levels were particularly high in the summer. Using
microbial A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...
source tracking (MST) and DNA tracking, birds were identified and validated via water quality testing as the source of summer increases in ''E. coli''. Colorado Springs Utilities, after almost ten years, had its compliance order with the state's Water Quality Control Division closed in 2013. The utility spent more than $170 million on improvements to the sewage system and $450,000 in penalties regarding sewage spills into Fountain Creek and its tributaries. The changes to the wastewater collection system included creation of detention ponds to divert overflow for treatment, a rapid response trailer to manage overflow problems, of large-diameter pipes, creek crossing projects, and more than 1,200 manhole covers. In 2014, a $145 bonding plan that would have included a regional stormwater project was voted down. It would have created a partnership with El Paso County, Green Mountain Falls, Manitou Springs, and Fountain to implement flood control projects.


Selenium concentration

Fountain Creek was identified as "impaired" due to high levels of selenium, picked up from the soil by ground and surface water, and ''E. coli'' in parts of the watershed. ''E. coli'' exceeds safe levels due to raw sewage spills, wildlife, livestock, stormwater overflows, and farm and ranch runoff. The variability of water flow, such as through floods, sewage spills, and groundwater runoff, have made the creek subject to sediment build-up, changes in flow, and vegetation changes. The Fountain Creek Vision Task Force was created in 2006 by the Pueblo and El Paso county commissioners to address water quality issues and promote recreation along the creek. The task force focuses on improving water quality for aquatic species and public health, ensuring a healthy wildlife habitat, resolving stormwater overflows, and investigating land use impacts. It recommended the creation of the Fountain Creek Watershed Drainage, Flood Control, and Greenway District for long-term management, leadership, and funding.


Management

Fountain Creek Watershed Drainage, Flood Control, and Greenway District was created on April 30, 2009, under Senate Bill 09-141. Overseen by nine board members, the "District's primary goals are to create healthy and safe waterways and establish greater recreation and appreciation opportunities, all through regional collaboration." Its projects include wetland restoration, sediment removal, water quality improvements, flood attenuation, erosion management and aquatic and wildlife habitat management. An additional trail is to be added at Clear Spring Ranch. The district's goals also include protecting open space. The district established relationships and partnerships with governmental agencies, organizations, universities, and the Fountain Creek Foundation—whose goals are to encourage and promote environmental and generational stewardship of the Fountain Creek—to meet the District's goals.


See also

*
List of rivers of Colorado This is a list of streams in the U.S. State of Colorado. __TOC__ Alphabetical list The following alphabetical list includes many important streams that flow through the State of Colorado, including all 158 named rivers. Where available, t ...


Notes


References


External links


Fountain Creek Watershed Flood Control and Greenway District
{{authority control Rivers of Colorado U.S. Route 24 Rivers of El Paso County, Colorado Manitou Springs, Colorado Fountain, Colorado Rivers of Pueblo County, Colorado Pikes Peak Tributaries of the Arkansas River