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<br /> <br />GUIDE LINES TO FLOOD PLAIN USE <br />While the objective of flood plain information is to foster optimum <br />and prudent use of the river valley, occupation of the flood plain is <br />always subject to nature's prior claim for passage of periodic floods. <br />To ignore this claim is to invite economic toll such as is illustrated <br />by the scenes presented in Figures 5 and 6. These floods have occurred <br />in various areas of the South Platte River basin. One may conjecture <br />that the victims of these floods were either completely unaware of the <br />flood hazard, or chose to ignore it as being remote or improbable. In <br />either case, they and their community gain little comfort from the fact <br />that it may have been unexpected or rare. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Prudent use of the flood plain must represent a careful balance <br /> <br />between essential community requirements and the economic coat of flood <br /> <br /> <br />damages. To minimize potential flood damages, use of the flood plain <br /> <br /> <br />should, wherever possible, be restricted to categories of community needs <br /> <br /> <br />which can sustain flooding with a minimum of economic damage. Community <br />requirements in this category may include parks, greenbelt areas or <br /> <br />parking lots and roadways. Under certain conditions, higher economic <br /> <br />use of the flood plain may be feasible if adequate floodproofing of <br />structures is made a requirement of flood plain occupation. In reaches <br /> <br />where encroachment already exists, channel enlargements or modification <br /> <br />of flow-retarding structures may be the most practical meanS of fore- <br />stalling future flood damages. Conversion of flood susceptible areas to <br />urban uses which can sustain flooding with less economic damages offers a <br /> <br />suitable alternative in some cases, and in other cases construction of <br /> <br />flood control works may be economically feasible. <br /> <br />8 <br />