FLOOD00209

• Designation Number: 543
• County: El Paso
• Community: Unincorporated El Paso County
• Title: Flood Insurance Study - Pitkin County, CO, and Incorporated Areas
• Date: 9/1/1988
• Designation Date: 3/1/2001
• Contract/PO #: &&
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

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FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT

Local Ordinance Reauirements
Communities that manage their floodplains in Colorado do so most often through the local
regulatory process. This requires a community to adopt an ordinance or regulation, which sets
forth the performance standards by which development will occur in identified flood hazard
areas. Nationwide and in Colorado, regulations are enforced within the area of the lOO-year
floodplain.

The basic requirement of these regulations is that new development and significant improvement
of existing development cannot occur in the 100-year floodplain without a floodplain
development permit being obtained. Obtaining such a permit requires compliance with
engineering standards. In communities that have only approximate floodplain information, the
engineering standards have been more general. Structures must be built with materials and
techniques that "minimize flood damages". For communities that have detailed floodplain
information, more specific regulations would apply.

Flood Insurance
Flood insurance is made available to owners and occupants of floodprone property through the
federal government's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The federally backed flood
insurance is available to anyone in any community that participates in the NFIP. At the time of
this study, Pitkin County was currently participating in the NFIP, and officially joined the regular
program of the NFIP on June 4, 1987. Communities become participants by adopting floodplain
regulations, adopting an NFIP map (if one exists) and agreeing to cooperate with the federal
govemment in the local implementation of the NFIP. Property owners and occupants can then
contact an insurance agent familiar with the NFIP (perhaps their own agent) and purchase
insurance through that agent, much like they would purchase homeowner's insurance. Brochures
and other information regarding the National Flood Insurance Program can be obtained by calling
the Regional Office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Denver at (303)
235-4830.

Floodplain Manal!ement Alternatives
In addition to floodplain regulations and flood insurance, there are many actions that can reduce
the risk of flood damage in a community. Generally these actions fall into two classes, structural
actions and non-structural actions. Structural actions involve the construction of facilities to
separate floodwaters from property that is at risk. They include construction of improved
channels, enlargement of crossing structures (bridges and culverts), levees and floodwalls,
reservoirs and ponds to detain floodwaters and diversion channels and pipes to direct waters
elsewhere. Non-structural actions usually involve removing people and/or structures from the
risk area without physically altering the floodplain. Such actions might include regulation of
new development, the adoption and enforcement of specific building code requirements,
floodproofing of existing buildings, relocation of structures to safer sites, acquisition of
floodplain areas (including buildings) for open space or other appropriate land uses, public
education, flood warning systems and emergency response programs.

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