PROJ02027

• Contract/PO #: FS0044FX
• Contractor Name: Larimer County, Board of County Commissioners
• Contract Type: Miscellaneous
• Water District: 0
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Introduction

The National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994- Title V, Section 553, requires the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director to carry out a mitigation grant program to
support planning, technical assistance, and mitigation activities of State and local governments.
As a condition for grants funds activities, a State or local government mitigation plan must be
approved by FEMA.

The City of Fort Collins and Larimer County have prepared this "Flood Risk Mitigation Plan for
the Dry Creek Floodplain, Fort Collins, CO." in accordance with Section 533 of the National
Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994. The plan describes the activities to be carried out with
assistance provided under Section 533 and provides protection against flood losses to structures
for which contracts for flood insurance are available. In addition, the mitigation plan is consistent
with the comprehensive strategy for mitigation activities for the area affected as adopted by the
City of Fort Collins and Larimer County.

Eligible mitigation activities as outlined in Section 1366 (e) include minor flood prevention
activities, that do not duplicate what other Federal agencies can provide, and that lessen the
frequency or severity of flooding and decrease predicted flood damages, and are deemed to be
the most cost effective and technically feasible by FEMA. The City of Fort Collins mitigation
plan includes flood prevention activities that will lessen the frequency and severity of flooding
and decrease predicted damages, as well as provide for overall multi-objective management
within the Dry Creek floodplain.

Community Description

Fort Collins is located along the banks of the Cache La Poudre River in eastern Larimer County,
Colorado where the foothills of the Rockies meet the Great Plains, at an elevation of 4,979 feet
above sea level. Fort Collins is located approximately 60 miles north of Denver. The climate is
semi-arid with approximately 300 days of sunshine and an average annual precipitation of 14.5
inches. Winters are moderately cold and dry with an average January temperature of 27 degrees
Fahrenheit and 30 percent humidity. The average July temperature is 71 degrees with 43 percent
humidity .

Fort Collins became incorporated in 1873 and has grown rapidly, from approximately 1,376
residents in 1880 to approximately 56,800 in 1975, to a current (1995) estimate of nearly
100,000. Fort Collins is at the northern edge of the rapidly growing Front Range of the Colorado
Rocky Mountains. The City currently (1994) covers approximately 44 square miles of area.

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