FLOOD11354 ‎(2)‎

• County: Eagle
• Community: Eagle County and Incorporated Areas
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Title: FIS - Eagle County and Incorporated Areas
• Date: 12/4/2007
• Prepared For: Eagle County
• Prepared By: FEMA
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Current FEMA Regulatory Floodplain Information

FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY
EAGLE COUNTY, COLORADO AND INCORPORATED AREAS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Purpose of Study

This Flood Insurance Study (FIS) revises and updates information on the existence and
severity of flood hazards in the geographic area of Eagle County, including the Towns of
Avon, Basalt, Eagle, Gypsum, Minturn, Red Cliff, and Vail and the unincorporated areas
of Eagle County (referred to collectively herein as Eagle County) and aids in the
administration of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and the Flood Disaster
Protection Act of 1973. This study has developed flood-risk data for various areas of the
communities that will be used to establish actuarial flood insurance rates and to assist the
communities in their efforts to promote sound floodplain management. Minimum
floodplain management requirements for participation in the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP) are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations at 44 CFR,
Section 60.3.

Please note that the Town of Basalt is geographically located in both Eagle and Pitkin
Counties. The Town of Basalt is included in its entirety in this FIS report.

In some States or communities, floodplain management criteria or regulations may exist
that are more restrictive or comprehensive than the minimum Federal requirements. In
such cases, the more restrictive criteria take precedence and the State (or other
jurisdictional agency) will be able to explain them.

1.2 Authority and Acknowledgments

The sources of authority for this FIS are the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and
the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973.

Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses for the Eagle River between the confluences of
Gypsum and Brush Creeks, and Gore Creek and its tributaries, were performed by
J.F. Sato and Associates (Sato) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
under Contract Nos. EMD-96-CO-0029 and EMD-96-CO-0020. This work was
completed in March 1999 and August 1999, respectively. However, their work was
superseded by the August 22, 2003, study of Matrix Design Group, Inc. (Matrix), which
was done at the request of Eagle County in cooperation with the Colorado Water
Conservation Board (CWCB) (Reference 1). The Matrix study included a portion of the
Colorado River, but was subsequently revised, based on data supplied with Letter of Map
Revision (LOMR) No. 04-08-0165P.

The hydraulic analysis for the main channel of Gore Creek was revised in June 2003 by
Sato to incorporate comments submitted by the Town of Vail to FEMA in letters dated
December 2002 and March 2003. These letters expressed concern about cross-section
data used in the original modeling. The June 2003 hydraulic analysis was revised by
FEMA in July 2003 to incorporate additional bridge information along Gore Creek
provided by the Town of Vail.

For the Roaring Fork River in Basalt, FEMA realized many changes had occurred along
the river since the previous studies, and a new study was needed. From 1997 through
1999, Sato contracted with FEMA, under Contract No. EMD-96-CO-0029, to redefine