Historic flooding in southwest Colorado
Rachel Gabel | November 6, 2026 | the Fence Post
The Colorado Congressional delegation has asked President Trump to respond to Gov. Jared Polis’s request for an expedited Presidential Major Disaster Declaration following devastating and historic flooding and debris flows in southwestern Colorado and the San Luis Valley. The delegation said the request pertains to the initial flooding on Oct. 22-25, the plea came in the midst of a second catastrophic flooding event across the same region, which adds urgency to their request. These impacts, they wrote, are compounded by the damaging flooding in October 2025, which have seriously strained available resources for recovery for previously affected communities.
The governor’s request seeks Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding for Archuleta and Rio Grande counties, where state and federal officials have already validated nearly $27 million in eligible damages. The flooding also impacted Alamosa, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Ouray, San Juan, and San Miguel Counties, where damage assessments continue and additional requests for federal assistance are expected.
In late October and early November, severe storms brought devastating flooding and debris flows to southwestern Colorado, damaging roads, bridges, utilities, homes, and businesses, and cutting off access to entire communities. Preliminary assessments for Archuleta and Rio Grande counties have identified approximately $10.6 million in damage to local roads, bridges and culverts; $2.44 million in damage to public utilities; and $8.59 million in damage to parks and recreation facilities. These figures do not include additional damage assessments underway or separate federal highway repair costs.
“Without additional support, residents could face unsafe homes and drinking water, long delays in rebuilding critical roads and bridges, and the loss of local businesses,” wrote the lawmakers. “Successful recovery is essential to restoring these communities’ economies, which depend on agriculture, tourism, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing.”
HISTORIC FLOODING
Colorado Senator and San Luis Valley agriculture producer Cleave Simpson said the flooding isn’t flash flooding that affected a single canyon or drainage, but widespread historic flooding.
“This covers the Conejos River, the Rio Grande River, the San Juan River, and the Animas River, and every tributary to those rivers,” Sen. Simpson said. “It’s almost impossible to put into words the impact and the magnitude of what transpired over the last two weeks. I haven’t seen the number from the Division of Water Resources or National Weather Service, but these were easily one in 100-year events, and they’re like one in 500-year events or maybe even more, and to have two of them back to back in the same place within 10 days. It’s just unprecedented.”
Simpson said one of his family’s leases near Alamosa includes a diversion in the Rio Grande River called the Independent ditch. He took a photo of the ditch in August when he called the flow just a trickle.
“Then the Sunday after the first event a couple of weeks ago, the entire diversion, the water, the river, was bank to bank and it wasn’t quite completely over the top, but instead of flowing 10 cubic feet per second there, it was flowing 2,500 cubic feet per second,” he said.
He said the back-to-back flooding events affect a huge geographic area.
“I don’t know how to relay to folks the magnitude of that,” he said. “The Rio Grande River was flowing 150 cubic feet per second, and 48 hours later it was flowing 11,000 cubic feet per second. And, and then receded and then back again the following, the Monday, uh, seven or eight days later back again at 11,000 cubic feet per second. On my farm south of Alamosa, going into the first of September, I had a total accumulation of a half an inch of moisture, snow and rain. That’s how dry it had been. But since the first of September, I’ve had 4 inches of rain at my house. This is in a place that on average only gets 7 inches.”
He said the Polis administration has been responsive. He said the real testament will come now during recovery and rebuilding and identifying funding to install new diversion dams in the river, irrigation structures, businesses, bridges, roads, and culverts with cold weather right around the corner.
Simpson said major concerns remain about unsafe homes and drinking water, long delays in rebuilding critical roads and bridges, and the loss of local businesses in an area dependent upon agriculture, tourism, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing.
“I want to highlight the magnitude of this,” he said. “This wasn’t a flash flood. It didn’t happen in one little watershed somewhere. It’s broad and it’s impactful across probably half of my Senate district. The number of communities and counties impacted is something I’ve never seen in my lifetime here.”
SOURCE: theFencePost, November 6, 2026
