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• Board Meeting Date: 3/18/2008
• Description: WPFM Section - Flood Outlook Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Attachment A
Background Information ~
The Department of Natural Resources, through the Colorado Water Conservation.Boazd, is actively engaging in
preparatory activities in response to the high snowpack conditions that are currently prevalent. within
manywatersheds throughout Colorado. On a regulaz basis throughout the snowmelt flood season, the CWCB
Flood Protection Program will disseminate pertinent and updated information to interested parties through
email, the CWCB website, and other means as necessary. In addition, the CWCB intends to I-erform the
following activities:
1. The CWCB will Chair a Flood Task Force Meeting on March 17th (and seve~~al meetings
thereafter during the flood season) to assemble appropriate experts, gather critical data,
and disseminate flood related information. An agenda can be found here: Flood Task Force
Meeting A eg nda
2. Daily Flood Threw Bulletins, prepared by a qualified meteorologist under contract to the
CWCB, will be posted to our website beginning May 1st and continuing throughout the flood
season. This service was highly utilized in past years and we have received excellent feedback
on its usefulness. As you know, the peak of snowmelt runoff rarely, if ever, occurs before May
1st in Cok~ado, but staff is already monitoring snowpack conditions on a daily basis.
3. Weekly mass emai} updates will be transmitted to local officials and other interested parties
during critical times of flooding or potential flooding.
4. Announcements,luiks, and key flood tips aze already posted on our website. 7['his includes the
need for homeowners to purchase flood insurance policies well in advance of actual flooding.
There is a mandatory 30-day waiting period for flood insurance policies to go into effect once
they are written.
5. The annual spring Mood news release will be prepared and distributed by CWCB staff once the
March 1st snowpack information becomes available.
6. Community Assistance Visits are already scheduled in several key areas of the state to address
floodplain ordinances, permits, mapping, and insurance questions. In additiory flood insurance
workshops are already being organized and conducted in various regions of th.e state based
on requests from local officials.
7. Coordination with FEMA occurs on a r_egulaz basis; and one of our staff members will be
designated as the State Flood Mitigation Officer in the event of a Presidentially declazed flood
disaster. Also, the CWCB Flood Response Fund is established and ready to go in the event that
flood documentation ,technical assistance, and data are needed to support local and federal
efforts.
8. Several federal and state grants aze available to communities on an annual basis for disaster
mitigation assistance, and our staff is available to assist potential applicants wiith the process.
9. Coordination with the Director and staff of the Colorado Division of Emergency Management is
already happening, and further coordination with county and local emergency
managers will occui as appropriate.
It is important to note that actual snowmelt flooding this season may or may not occur depending on several
important variables. High snowpack alone does not necessarily translate to high runoff and subsequent flooding
conditions. However, it is always possible that given the right combination of snowpack, daily high and low
temperatures, snowmelt timing, and'other variables that flooding could occur. For example, a rapid melting of
mountain snowpack due to 7 straigh~ days of warm temperatures could result in an actual flood problem. On the
other hand, the gradual melting of th',at same snowpack, possibly combined with sublimation from high. winds,
could result in a more uniform and less threatening runoff situation.