Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />COI.ORADO STATEWIDE STREAM REHABILITATION <br />AND FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT NEEDS INVENTORY <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br /> <br />John M. Pflaum <br />McLaughlin Water Engineers, Ltd. <br /> <br />Larry Lang <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br /> <br />Significant flood events in 1993 and 1995 caused an estimated $48.3 million in damages and related <br /> <br />fatalities in Colorado. In response to this, the Colorado Legislature in early 1997 authorized the Water <br /> <br />Conservation Soard to conduct a statewide inventory of river channel restoration and floodplain management <br /> <br />needs. The findings of the Needs Assessment will be the basis for a proposal to determine the economic <br /> <br />feasibility of establishing a stoltewide floodplain management and river channel rehabilitation program funded <br /> <br />separately from the Colorado Water Conservation Board construction fund. The proposed program would <br /> <br />represent a comprehensive approach and source offunds for local govemments to better manage mitigation <br />. measures, streambanks and channel erosion, loss of channel conveyance capacity, and loss of wildlife habitat <br />areas. <br /> <br />This legislative directive became prophetic a few months later when extreme flooding impacted a <br /> <br />thirteen- county area of eastE!m Colorado between July 28 and August 17. 1997. An estimated $200 million <br /> <br />in flood damage occurred in the Fort Collins/Larimer County area, and an additional $50 million in damages <br /> <br />were documented in twelve other counties. Six deaths were attributed to the flooding, and the affected areas <br /> <br />received a Presidential Disas;ter Declaration. <br /> <br />In October, 1997 the Colorado Water Conservation Soard (eWCS) retained McLaughlin Water <br /> <br />Engineers, Ltd. (MWE) to conduct an inventory of floodplain management and stream rehabilitation needs for <br /> <br />the State of Colorado. The re,sults of this inventory would serve as the basis for recommended programs to <br /> <br />address those needs. <br /> <br />ASSESSMENT PROCESS <br /> <br />The CWCS organized a Steering Committee to provide overview and guidance for the project, bring <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />an expanded level of expertise and perspective, provide comment and endorsement of study findings and <br />