FLOOD10351

• County: Statewide
• Community: Statewide
• Title: Statewide River Rehabilitation & Flood Plain Management Needs Inventory
• Date: 12/1/1998
• Prepared For: State of Colorado Department of Natural Resources
• Prepared By: McLaughlin Water Engineers
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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criteria manuals, statewide GIS system with internet access/interface. education program, participation in
sea ping of new/improved federal programs, wetland detention policy, and watershed master planning.

Statewide Problems - Once the general needs were categorized, then it was necessary to further refine the
assessment in order to make sense of the information and come up with common, statewide problem
areas, This last step permits the development of concise recommendations to address the problem areas.
111e top five flood-related problems that surlaead as a resu~ 01 the procoss are:
1) Lack of funding mechanism,
2) Damages caused by flood events,
3) Mapping needs and development in floodp'ains,
4) Channel erosion, and
5) Lack of education and watershed management

FINAL NEEDS DETERMINATION

The survey findings offer a basis for understanding needs and formulating recommendations for meeting
those needs, The CWCS's consultant has compiled needs for floodplain and stream corridor management
The CWCS and the Steering Committee agreed on the following specific categories of needs that were
pared down from the general needs stated above, These needs Should also help to address the statewide
flood-related problems as well.

Planning Asslstanea ' Many of the state's watersheds have an absence of an overall master drainage plan
and mitigation plan for a rehabilitation or restoration plan for the flood ravaged channels and floodplains,
With the implementation of short,term and site specific projects, longer-term problems are created, which
might have been avoided, or at least minimized, if the initial activities had been undertaken with a broader
perspective, In addition to taking a watershed approach, these p'ans need to consider the full range of
interests in the watershed through a mUlti,objective approach, Planning assistance options that the
respondents identified are:

Community Master Plan: Community growth
patterns are adversely affecting natural
stream corridor functions, Fatly-two perr:snt
of tile respondents Indicated the need to
Include a watershed based drainage master
plan to enable present dBCIs/on malaJrs to
create a plan that addresses tile watershed
and how Individual projects would m Into tile overall plan, ratller than only looldng at Individual projects,
This master plan would also provide future decision makers with insight concerning what was envisioned
for the watershed, and provide a basis for sound decision making based upon hydrological and
environmental concepts that take into account the watershed's unique geomorphology, soils. climate,
vegetation, wildlife. and human characteristics.

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42%of
respOnderts
___ indicated a need
for a watershed
based drainage
master plan

Section VI - 2