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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I INTRODUCTION The Town of Wellington is presently encumbered by two flood plains: Boxelder Creek Floodplain and Coal Creek Floodplain (see Figure 1, Vicinity Map). This study specifically addresses the Coal Creek Floodplain. This study evaluates alternatives for removing the Coal Creek Floodplain from the eastern portion of the town planning area In 1995, two houses were constructed within the part of the Coal Creek Floodplain where no construction may take place (formally called the floodway). Since that time, FEMA has requested and the CWCB staffhas recommended that a Flood Hazard Mitigation Report and a Feasibility Study be undertaken, respectively. Another purpose of the project is to potentially reduce or eliminate the cost of Flood Hazard Insurance to the home and business owners that are required to have it. Our research determined there were two existing floodplain studies. One prepared in the early 1980's and a subsequent study prepared by the Soil Conservation Service, (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) as part of a flood reduction program that culminated in the construction of flood control dams in the upper Coal Creek Basin, north of Wellington. Reviewing the town files and two studies showed that there were significant discrepancies in the flood flow shown in the two reports. FEMA made two requests. First, that the town adopt new floodplain regulations. Two, that a data study be undertaken to recognize data availability and to determine future steps to adopt a new floodplain map. Both of these requests have been met. Purpose and Scope of the Study The purpose of the study is to identify viable design alternatives that remove the Coal Creek Floodplain from within the planning boundary, identified in the Town of Wellington, Comprehensive Master Plan, April 1997. The Town wishes to exclude the floodplain from within the entire planning area boundary so floodplain remapping will not be needed in the foreseeable future and so existing and future residents will not need floodplain insurance. Furthermore, removing the Coal Creek Floodplain will enhance property values and make economic development more feasible as the town develops. The scope of the study is limited to evaluating existing technical reports and planning studies supported by developing a limited amount of new data and mapping. The physical limits of the new mapping are within the existing Coal Creek basin from the Windsor Canal (southern boundary) to Larimer County Road 66 (northern boundary) between the Union Pacific railbed (western boundary) to Interstate Highway 25 (eastern boundary). The new mapping was developed in the autumn of 1999 and is supplemented by the collection of field survey data in specific locations along the Wmdsor Canal and Larimer County Road 7. Existing data from a variety of sources was used for the study including: a) existing floodplain 5