Damage to public and private property from a series of thunderstorms that pummeled Ouray County earlier this month stood at $3.5 million this week, a total that is expected to surge as state and local emergency management and public works teams continue to assess the impact from widespread flooding and mudslides.

The town of Ridgway absorbed the biggest hit from this month’s monsoonal surge, which destroyed the diversion system that ultimately feeds into Lake Otonowanda, the town’s primary water source.

Town Manager Preston Neill last week estimated it may cost $2.3 million to fix the diversion system. Ouray County Emergency Manager Glenn Boyd called that estimate “very conservative.”

“Numbers higher than that have definitely been thrown around,” Boyd told Ouray city councilors Monday night during an update on flood damage.

City officials have identified about $500,000 in damage so far to the culvert that runs underneath Pinecrest Drive and infrastructure around the Box Cañon geothermal pipeline, the primary source of water for the Ouray Hot Springs Pool.

The Pinecrest culvert, which channels stormwater from Oak Creek, may need to be replaced instead of repaired, Boyd said. The geothermal line itself isn’t compromised, but several feet of the banks of Oak Creek and abutments of a pedestrian bridge over the creek that carries the pipeline were eroded.

The city doesn’t yet have damage estimates on Fedel Court, where City Administrator Silas Clarke said several garages were filled with mud and the street flooded after a debris buildup in Bridal Veil Creek on U.S. Forest Service land sent stormwater rushing down into the subdivision.

In response to a question from Ouray resident Kevin Schiffer, Public Works Director Joe Coleman said there were no areas of the city that were “overly glaring” in terms of flood or damage concerns.

Ouray County reported just under $47,000 in damage as of Monday night to clear flooded areas along County roads 17 and 23 and pump flood water out of a field at the county fairgrounds. The county didn’t have damage estimates for several other areas that were flooded.

Officials had identified roughly $625,000 in damage to private property so far. But Boyd noted that of the 103 private property owners who had self-reported damage to a state online portal, officials had completed preliminary damage assessments for just nine of those properties.

He encouraged residents to report damage in the hopes state officials will allocate funding to help pay for repairs. They can do so by clicking here.

“There is no guarantee of any sort of funding, but having folks actually register in the portal is the best way to paint a full picture of the damages we have,” Boyd said.

Assistance could come in other forms, like deploying volunteers, Boyd said. But Bobbie Lucero, a regional manager with the state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told commissioners if the county is going to do things like enlist volunteers and gather donations, it would need to help fund staff to coordinate those efforts.

A human services staffer could also be brought in through state support. Boyd said the emergency operations center will bring in the county’s human services department as a part of a private property support team once all damage is documented. This team will also include the county Public Health Department and Assessor’s Office, he said.

But to access state funds for individual assistance, the county would need evidence of 30 insured homes that each have more than 40% in damages that their insurance can’t cover, Lucero said.

For now, thorough damage reporting can also help the municipalities and county apply for mitigation project funding in the future.

During a commissioners’ meeting Wednesday, County Manager Connie Hunt said the federal grant awarded to replace the bridge over Corbett Creek into Whispering Pines is an example of the type of mitigation efforts the county can pursue.

Commissioner Lynn Padgett said mitigation projects on County Road 23 and along Coal Creek should be considered in the future.

During Wednesday’s meeting, residents of the Coal Creek area between Ridgway and Ouray shared struggles to manage damage on their private properties and driveways. They also expressed frustration and confusion over why the county hadn’t done more damage control on the road and cleared culverts under County Road 23 and Coal Creek.

Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger said his team had been managing the culverts on the first quarter-mile of Coal Creek Road that is on the official county road map. Residents disagreed with Barger’s assertion, saying the poor management of the culverts caused most of the damage to their properties.

To resolve the issue, commissioners approved an agreement allowing county equipment to be used on private property as long as the disaster order is in place.

Barger said any assistance requests in the next two weeks will have to be contracted out as 100% of the department is committed to the County Road 1 chip seal operation.

Hunt reminded Barger that in emergency conditions it is also possible to pay county employees overtime.

Boyd said he’s heard from some residents wondering why the county declared an emergency disaster, believing the rain to not be out of the ordinary.

“If you look at these (damage estimate) numbers, I can assure you this was not just a normal rainfall,” he said.

Commissioners extended the county-wide disaster declaration until Oct. 1, which will allow funding support from the county’s Human Services Department to extend through October, Hunt said. Ouray remains under an order until further notice and Ridgway’s disaster declaration expires Sept. 12, although Boyd said he expects Ridgway to remain under a disaster order for months.

Boyd said he hopes all public damage will be documented by the end of today (Thursday) and all private damage will be documented by the end of the week. State officials will help document agriculture damages, assess any contamination of wells and identify any standing water that may cause mold or other health issues.

Ouray had received 4.12 inches of rain in August as of Tuesday morning, about 1.4 inches above average, according to National Weather Service observer Karen Risch. The all-time record for the month is 5.28 inches in 1982, she said.

Ridgway stood just shy of 3 inches of rain in August, nearly a full inch above average, according to Ridgway weather observer Jennifer Cram.

More rain is in the forecast, with the National Weather Service calling for a chance of rain every day through the weekend.

Lia Salvatierra is a journalist with Report for America, a service program that helps boost underserved areas with more reporting resources.