FLOOD11043

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Map Modernization Implementation Plan for Colorado
• Date: 8/1/2002
• Prepared For: FEMA Region 8
• Prepared By: CWCB, UDFCD
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

Mapping Plan for Colorado

In many cases, the older maps reflect outdated flood hazard information that limits their utility for
insurance and floodplain management purposes. Additionally, most of the maps were prepared using now
outdated road network information and manual cartographic techniques, which make the maps difficult
for State and local customers to use and expensive for FEMA and the Colorado Water Conservation
Board to maintain. In addition, FEMA has not produced flood maps for many communities in Colorado.

To address this problem, the President's budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 (which starts on October 1,
2002) includes $351 million for initiating FEMA's national Map Modernization Program. Similar
funding levels are proposed for subsequent fiscal years.

This MMIP was prepared by the State of Colorado to assist FEMA in the development of regional and
national plans for implementing the FEMA Map Modernization Program. This Plan summarizes the role
that Colorado will play in completing the required mapping activities and how these activities will be
managed and performed. This MMIP identifies mapping priorities, explains how mapping priorities were
established for each county in Colorado, and outlines an approach for addressing these mapping priorities.

Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) performance measures were suggested for the Map
Modernization Program by the Office of Management and Budget, largely in the basis of the work of the
Technical Mapping Advisory Council established by Congress and Council's five years of work and on
the basis of work by FEMA' s staff in cooperation with the Council during that time. In accordance with
the GPRA performance measures, the details of the Plan have been developed with consideration given to
FEMA accomplishing the following:

. Reducing the average age of the flood maps nationwide from over 13.6 years to 6 years or less;

. Producing digital flood hazard maps with up-to-date flood hazard data for the IS-percent highest
priority areas in the state; and

. Developing flood hazard maps for one-half of the unmapped, flood prone communities in
Colorado.

1.2 State Role in the Flood Hazard Mapping Program

The CWCB has the primary responsibility for floodplain management in Colorado including coordination
of the NFIP. CWCB will be the lead agency for the implementation of the MMIP in Colorado, except for
the Denver metro area. The CWCB is currently in the process of establishing a joint effort with the Urban
Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) in the Denver metro area for MMIP implementation.

The CWCB plans to have a new full-time State Floodplain Mapping Coordinator to implement the plan.
CWCB will be requesting a Federal grant to provide funds for an in-house employee or a contracted State
Floodplain Mapping Coordinator. The State Floodplain Mapping Coordinator will coordinate all
floodplain mapping activities in Colorado between the State and local communities with the involvement
of the UDFCD in the Denver metro area. Because the State does not have the resources to fully manage
or perform all flood study or map upgrade activities, those activities will be performed by qualified
engineering consultants under contract to the CWCB. The State will rely on those consultants for:
scoping, outreach and community coordination, digital base map collection and coordination, topographic
data collection, field surveys, engineering analyses and floodplain mapping, and report writing. The State
Floodplain Mapping Coordinator will be involved in the management of all mapping activities and
coordination with State, Federal and local agencies. In the Denver Metropolitan area, the CWCB hopes

12/26/2002

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